Sitayana

SIX^ANA

9C,0i. Srvnwdsd ^Jyen^ar

ALSO BY K.R. SRINIVASA IYENGAR

Sri Aurobindo: A Biography and a History
On the Mother : The Chronicle of a Manifestation
and Ministry

S. Srinivasa Iyengar : A Decade of Indian Politics
The Epic Beautiful : A verse Rendering of the Sundara
Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana
Tryst with the Divine
Microcosmographia Poetica
Leaves from a Log: Fragments of a Journey
Australia Helix : A Spiral of Verse Sequences
Musings oj Basava (in collaboration with S.§.Basawanal)
Shakespeare: His World and His Art
Lytton Strachey: A Critical Study
Gerard Manley Hopkins : The Man and the Poet
Francois Mauriac: Novelist and Moralist
Rabindranath Tagore
Indian Writing in English
The Adventure of Criticism
Dawn to Greater Dawn: Six Lectures on ‘Savitri'
Introduction to the Study of Englisl^ Literature
(in collaboration with Preme Nandakumar)

A Big Change : Talks on the Spiritual Evolution and
the Future Man

Mainly Academic: Talks to Students and Teachers
Two Cheers for the Commonwealth

EDITED BY K.R. SRINIVASA IYENGAR

Sri Aurobindo: A Centenary iriouie
Guru Nanak: A Homage
Indian Literature since Independence
Asian Variations in Ramayana
Essays and Addresses of C.R. Reddy
Drama m Modern India

SITAYANA

Epic of the Earth-horn

K..R. Srinivasa Iyengar

SAMATA BOOKLS

MADRAS

SRI RAMA NAVAMI

(£) K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar

PUBLISHED BY V. SADANAND, SAMATA BOOKS,
10 KAMARAJ BHAVAN 573 MOUNT ROAD,
MADRAS 600006 INDIA

Filmset and printed by
'All India Press, Pondicherry
Printed in India

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Vlll

PROLOGUE

xix

BOOK ONE: MITHILA

1

Canto 1 Narada and Janaka

3

2 Janaka

15

3 Janaka and Yajnavalkya

24

4 Sita’s Birth and Fostering

29

5 The Girlhood of Sita

37

•

>') What Dreams may Come

46

7 Initiation

54

8 The Dome of Holiness

60

9 Destiny Unfolding

67

•10 The Bride-Pricf of Valour

78

1 1 Sita’s Marriage

84

BOOK TWO: AYODHYA

93

C*into 12 Darkness after Dawn

95

13 Ahalya’s Outburst

101

14 Apprenticeship in Kingcraft

no

15 Voice of the People

117

16 The Crookback and Kaikeyi

122

17 The G-eat Renunciation

127

18 Sita has Her Way

137

19 Journey to Chitrakuta

145

20 Bharata

155

21 Rama on Raja Dharma

163

22 iSita and Srutakirti

172

VI

Contents

BOOK THREE- ARANYA 179

Canto 23 Atri and Anasuya 181

24 Inside Dandaka 187

25 Around the Ashramas 196

26 Designs for Living 204

27 Agastya and Lopamudra 213

28 Panchavati 222

29 The Golden Deer 230

30 The Abduction of Sita "^37

31 Jatayu 242

32 Rama Disconsolate 248

33 Kabanda and Sabari 258

BOOK FOUR ASOKA 265

Canto 34 In Ravana’s Lanka 267

35 Alone in Asoka 273

36 Sita’s Introspection 279

37 Trijata and Anala 286

38 The Ugly and the Beautitul 294

39 Ruminations and Lacerations 302

40 Ravana and Sita 312

41 Sita — From Darkness to Light 3^3

42 Sita and Hanuman 331

43 Signet Ring and Crest-Jewel 340

44 Hanuman and Ravana 347

BOOK FIVE YUDDHA 359

Canto 45 Hanuman Reports 361

46 Vibhishana 372

47 '""he War Begins 383

48 Alternating Fortunes 393

%

49 Mandodari and Sulochana 404

50 Ravana's Dream 414

vii Contents

Canto 51 Kumbhakarna’s Fall 422

52 Between Despair and Hope 433

53 Indrajit’s Fall and After 445

54 Suspense and Apocalypse 455

55 Ravana’s End 465

BOOK SIX: RAJYA 473

Canto 56 War and Peace 475

57 Mandodari’s Lament 480

58 Rejection of Sita 485

59 Sita’s Fire-Baptism 491

60 Air Journey to Ayodhya 497

61 The Coronation of Rama and Sita 507

vj • Mothers and Sisters 515

63 A F.ound of Visits 524

64 Rama Rajya 531

65*Ar.xStya Speaking 539

66 Siia’s Stream of Consciousness 548

•

BOOK SEVEN: ASHRAM A 557

Canto 67 Holy Wedded Love 559

68 Exiled Again 56t

69 The Ashrama Sanctuary 579

70 Motherhood and Fulfilment 589

71 Calm of Mind and Nightmare Visions 598

72 ‘The Song of Rama’ 609

73 In the Soul’s Mystic Cave 615

74 Asvamcdha agd the Twin Rhapsodists 621

75 Communion and Reunions 629

76 Sita’s Vindication and Withdrawal 637

77 Her Grace Abiding 648

EPILOGUE 659

VOTES 661

INTRODUCTION

I

When my verse translation of the ‘Sundara Kanda' of the Ramayana
of Valmiki was completed and sent to the press by mid- 1982, a
friend suggested that 1 might turn to the other Kandas too. But this
would have meant several volumes of the size of ‘The Epic Beauti-
ful,’ and understandably enough my mind quailed before that
formidable proposition. Alternatively, my friend asked, why not
try my hand at an English verse rendering of an abridged
Ramayana-. for instance, Laghu Ramayana by Govindanath Guha?
It is good in itself but based on the Eastern Recension, not the
almost universally accepted Southern. Actually there are popular
one-volume Ramayana versions in English prose, for example
Rajaji’s and D.S.Sarma’s, and also R.K.Narayan’s (based on
Kamban’s Ramavataram in Tamil). As for verse repderings, Ralph
T.H.Griffith’s slightly abridged version in rhymed octosyllabics
came out in 1870-5, and Romesh Chunder Dutt’s ^drastically
condensed Ramayana in the ‘Locksley Hall’ metre appeared
towards the close of the last century. And there is the receq) gallant
effort by P.Lal, partly in prose and partly in free verse.

No dearth, then, of abridged renderings of the Ramayana in
English. And I didn’t fancy a task asking for acts of selection and
omission, fissioning or fusioning of individual situations, even the
clipping of the wings of several characters, and carrying always a
sense of guilt that one was perhaps taking too many liberties with
Valmiki while still invoking his hoary name. It then t)ccurred to
me that, perhaps, 1 might attempt on my own a fresh recital of
the Ramayana story but slanted as Sitayana, Sitayah charitam
mahat, Sita’s saga sublime. In the Ramayana as we have it and as
Valmiki himself clearly visualised it, the web is of a mingle;d yarn,
the sky-blue heroic story of Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, and the
gold-sheened Sita story, the Epic of thelEarth-born, merging with
the dark-hued blood-smeared Tale of Ravana the Titan ending
with his death. And Sita’s tragic history fatefully links the Rama
and Ravana stories.

Sitayah charitam mahat: a reverberant and talismanic phrase!"
With something like a reckless presumption I wished to re-tell the
Ramayana as Sitayana in about a fourth of the length of Valmiki’s

ix Introduction

massive and magnificent poetic recordation. 1 would rely on Valmiki
to the extent necessary or possible, though of course the Adi-Kavi
would in no way be now responsible for the inadequacies or aber-
rations in my organisation of the Saga or of its detailed articulation.

In the result, the Rama-Sita story from the time of their mar-
riage in Mithila, through the ‘palace revolution’ in Ayodhya, the
happenings in the ‘Aranya’, ‘Sundara’ and ‘Yuddha’ Kandas
culminating in the Coronation, becomes the essential spinal column
as also the sustaining life-blood of Sitayana as well. But because
of the intended tilt towards Sita, it was necessary to substitute
‘Bala’ by ‘Mithila’ (about Sita’s birth and fostering). In the ‘Aranya’,
Sita is carried away by Ravana to Lanka, and so it is ‘Asoka’
(and not ‘Kishkindha’) that follows ‘Aranya’. The happenings in
Valmiki's ‘Kishkindha’ are summed up retrospectively by
Hanuman to Sita, when he meets her under the Simsupa tree in
Asoka Grove. Valmiki’s ‘Yuddha’ describes the war, the end of
Ravanat Sita’s fire-baptism, the flight to Ayodhya in the Pushpaka
and the apocalyptic Coronation; and in ‘Uttara’, Agastya visits
Ayodhya and tells Rama about Ravana’s Rakshasa antecedents.
‘Uttara’ also describes Rama’s second rejection of Sita, her finding
ready reVuge in Valmiki’s Ashrama, and her overwhelming vin-
dication of herself twelve years after and withdrawal into the Earth.
In Sitayana, ‘Yuddha’ concludes with Ravana’s death; ‘Rajya’
presents Sita’s fire-ordeal, acceptance by Rama, the return to
Ayodhya, the Coronation, and the efflorescence of ‘Rama Rajya’;
and the last Book, Ashrama’, unfolds the supreme irony and
supreme tragedy of the noon-time eclipse in Sita’s life, her twelve
twilight .years in Muni Valmiki’s Ashrama, the climactic second
vindication and definitive withdrawal to her Earth-Mother,
Madhavi.

In Valmiki, we meet Sita first at the time of her marriage. In
my ‘Mithila’, the circumstances under which Sita was found by
Janaka in the hallowed sacrificial grounds, and her childhood and
girlhood years with her three sisters, Urmila, Mandavi and
Srutakirti, are described in some detail. In my ‘Ayodhya’, while
the events are the same as in Valmiki, there is some shuffling and
telescoping, the happenings in Ayodhya following Rima’s de-
parture for the woods being only reported by Srutakirti to Sita
later on at Chitrakuta.

In Valmiki’s ‘Aranya’, while the earlier and later phases of the
P4-vear oeriod of exile are delineated with considerable particu-

X

Indrodurtion

larity, the long interim is disposed of summarily with the remark
that Rama, Sita and Lakshmana moved from Ashrama to Ashrama,
and stayed in them for periods long or short totalling ten years
{Aranya, Canto 11, 25-7). This blank I have tried to fill in the
Cantos ‘Around the Ashramas’ and ‘Designs for Living’. Likewise
hardly anything is said in Valmiki’s ‘Sundara’ about Sita’s life in
Asoka Grove during the first ten months of her imprisonment there.
Here, again, I have ventured to fill the lacuna by emphasising the
roles of Trijata, Anala, and their mother, Sarama. There is a good
deal of self-probing, too, on Sita’s part, inevitable in her intolerable
loneliness and feeling of helplessness. Finally, the twelve years in
Valmiki’s Ashrama, mainly curtained by silence, receive due
consideration in my last Book, ‘Ashrama.’

Further, since my cardinal aim was to make this quintessentially
the story of Sita, it seemed natural that h should try to give dis-
tinctive — if minor — roles to her three sisters, Urmila, Mandavi
and Srutakirti, all the more so because they married ‘Rama’s
brothers, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna. Further, of the
great Rishipatnis of antiquity, Valmiki memorably limns only
Anasuya, Sage Atri’s wife, and dramatises her dowering Sita with
presents. I thought I wouldn’t be straining probability too much
if Sita had meetings with the legendary Gargi, Maitreyi, Kat;^ayani,
Arundhati, I opamudra and Ahalya herself, as also the Rakshasa
and Vanara Queens, Mand5dari and Tara. ^

While the source-of-all, the sap-of-all, is doubtless Valmiki’s
Rama) ana, I have occasionally borrowed also from the Tamil
Ramavataram of Kamban and more occasionally still, from Tulsi
Dasa’s Ramacharita Manasa. •

There is, then, the question of the ‘age’ of the principal charac-
ters. In my time-scheme, Rama and Sita marry whe\ they are 16 and
14, and they spend less than a year together in A^ odhya before they
are exiled to Dandaka for 14 years. They return to Ayodhya when
they are 31 and 29. Another year perhaps, and Sita is exiled again.
Then, twelve years after, they meet in the Aswamedha Pavilion in
Naimisa forest; and as Sita returns to her Earth-Mother, she is 42
and Rama is 44. As for Ravana, Vibhishana, Sugriva and the other
important Rakshasa and Vanara characters, they are all older —
it is immaterial by exactly how many years — than Rama and his
brothers, or '.3ita and her sisters. The Rishis and Rishipatnis too —
Vasishta and Arundhati, Agastya and Lopamudra, Gautama and
Ahalya, Atri and \nasuya, Yajnavalkya and Maitreyi, and tlie

XI

Introduction

Rishis Visvamitra, Valmiki and many others who witness Sita’s
tremendous vindication and withdrawal — well, they may be
taken to be as good as ageless.

11

I must here confess that I have made no deliberate attempt to
modernise’ or ‘rationalise’ the divers ingredients of the received
Rama-Sita story. While I have no doubt refrained from any explicit
references to Ravana’s ‘ten-headedness,’ I have retained some of the
‘supernatural’ or ‘supernormal’ elements in Valmiki’s narrative:
for example, Hanuman’s flair for waxing or waning in size, or
Kumbhakarna’s Gargantuan personality and seasons of prolonged
slumber. In defence, 1 might say that, over a period of two or three
thousand years, these darlings of Unreason have become inex-
tricably integrated with our racial consciousness. We don't ask
“Is it possible?”; given the ‘impossible’, we feel that the rest is
‘prob^’bH* Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Surpanakha, Vibhishana,
Trijata and Ayala, were of the Rakshasa race, Hanuman. Sugriva
and Tara of the ‘Vanara’ species; fearful creatures like Viradha
and Kab^nda, king-vultures like Jatayu and Sampati, are all
endowed wi^ii ttie power of speech: yet their thoughts, feelings,
actions,— as delineated in Valmiki — are well within the range of
probability, for as character-creations they are as acceptable as the
hiim'^n protagonists - Dasaratha, Kausalya, Sumitra. Kaikeyi,
even the Crookback, Sita herself, Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana,
Guha and the rest.

Certainly, on the Rakshasa as on the Vanara side, there are
supernatural exploits. But in our age of careering technology, we
needn’t raise our eyebrows at such feats of speed, camouflage or
summary or instantaneous destruction. It is not what is already
possible or a matter of daily experience in the material world that
is important : what is signific 4 ni is rather the behaviour of the actors
(be thyy Rakshasas, Vanaras or humans) in different situations.
Bharata. Sugriva, Vibhisjjiana are all younger brothers, but how do
they behave towan^s Rama, Vali and Ravana — their respective
elder brothers — and why? Ahalya, Sita, Tara, Mandodari are
all counted among the great pativratas, among the most loly, fair
and chaste of womankind, and with equal justification. What is the
force or grace that unites and exalts them in spite of the seeming
differences?

* Necromancy too plays a part in the epic action, as in the incident

xii Introduction

of the magic deer, the Maya Sita who confounds Hanuman himself
for a while, the Ghost Janaka (this, from Kamban) who fails to
deceive Sita, the snake-darts and their power to strike the victims
unconscious, and so on. But necromancy, while it may be a diver-
sionary or delaying tactic, is never the definitive factor in the action. •
Sooner or later it is exposed, and the protagonists are presently
back to Square One. In an epic recital where the central concern is
with the human beings, the rest add up only to the backgrounding,
the atmosphere, the battle of the elements, the invisible pulls of
Providence and the dynamics of ‘Fixt fate: Free will’.

Even with human characters like Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, there
are things that may at first strain our credulity. Rama and
Lakshmana too unleash arrows charged with varied supernatural
potencies, and the Brahma-shaft that Rama finally releases to kill
Ravana is described vividly in Valmiki as though it was verily
the forerunner of the Atom Bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima
on 6 August 1945. And Sita’s birth itself in a furrow' may seem a
charade to many, and her fire-ordeal, and her latej- return to the
Earth, may strain our credulity and invite explanations in terms of
reason.

t

The longevity of the Rakshasas, of the Rishis and Rishipatnis,
and the decreed immortality of Hanuman need to be understood
as intended. Sifayana \s the story of Sit?', and of the vicissitudes of
her human relationship with Rama : the rest will have to be accepted
if necessary with “a willing suspension of disbelief', a very legiti-
mate preparation while approaching literature. After all, once
logical reason sets up an inquisition, inventiveness and imagination
will have to fold up and retire. Are Rama, Sita, Ravana, Guhe,
Sugriva, Vibhishana ‘historical’ figures? Could clairvoyant Ahaiya,
Lopamudra, Trijata see so much and so clearly? Is it possible that
the happenings in Dandaka and Panchavati were wholly unknown
to Bharata? or that Sita’s life in Valmiki’s Ashrama remained
unknown to Rama in Ayodhya? And, well, how odd ‘E^iglish’
speeches should be put into the mouths^ of the characters of the
Indian Heroic Age? Isn’t this anachronism with a vengeance?
All these caveats — and others too — may be entered against a
literary work like Sitayana. But notwithstanding the march of
the human mind, the advance of science and technology and the
increasing I'jgimentation of human life, and above all the dreaded
possibility of computers rendering the human brain obsolete,
there is the small voice that holds the key to the mansions of tfie

xiii Introduction

spirit, and imaginative exercises will be valid still. Thus, when the
foreground drama concerning select human beings gradually
unfolds itself before our eyes, the background — terrestrial and
cosmic — comprising trees, rocks, rivers, the sky, the sun, the moon,
> the stars and the Milky Way, may be ageless, timeless, even though
exerting an influence, beneficent or malevolent, on the lives of the
characters in the foreground drama. Even so the ageless Rishis
and Rishipatnis, the outsize Vanaras and Titans, and the deathless
Gods — be their role helpful or baneful— may be viewed too as
part of the terrestrial-cosmic background to the basically human
history of Rama and Sita.

Sitayana is ‘Sita’s saga sublime’, the story of her birth, childhood
and girlhood, her marriage to Rama, their life as exiles in Dandaka
for 13 years, their year-long separation and reunion, their Corona-
tion at Ayodhya, her second sundering from Rama, her crown of
motherhood, and the last scene of her self-transcendence and re-
turn to het Earth-Mother. But she isn’t really separated from Rama;
she is also enshrined in the hearts of Lakshmana, Hanuman and
Trijata. And in our hearts too. This is the quintessential story: the
rest is the needed ballast and scaff’olding.

Ill

It is no vain claim that* the Rama-Sita-Ravana story, although
it belongs to an earlier civilisation, comes to us still with a wholly
disarming contemporaneity of its own. And during the last 2000 or
more years, the story has been told in countless ways in the different
languages of India, and all over Asia as well.’ But in these versions,
n^t only is the invoked past seen to have a recognisable immediacy
of appeal, but each writer also attempts a projection in some
measure of his own time into the ‘living past’ that is the imperi-
shable world of Rama and Sita. I too have been unable to resist
the temptation, and without falling (1 hope) into the traps and
dangers of excrescent anachronism, 1 have tried here and there by
positing the phenomenon of clairvoyance, visionary foresight and
leaps of transcendence to relate some of the issues raging in our
present-day world with the perennial values and verities of the
world of Rama and Sita.

xiv Introduction

1 cannot say how much of my Sitayana, as it has now shaped
itself, is a direct transplant (through close translation) from
Valmiki, and how much is my own in varied gradations of invention
and improvisation. Probably rather less than one-fourth is a strict
translation from Valmiki, but then that is also the base plank, the ,
indispensable grounding and elan for the rest. Valmiki’s ‘Uttara’
refers to the Queen Mothers’ passing and Rama’s withdrawal as
well. But Sitayana ends in Naimisa after the mystical tremendum
of Sita’s final vindication and her determined withdrawal to the
bosom of Mother-Earth. The same night, as a result of a sudden
leap of self-knowledge, Rama comes to terms with his apparent
defeat and the severance from Sita; and only Trijata, Lakshmana
and Hanuman are privy to this new-found but subdued felicity.

When I wrote to an esteemed friend about my toying with the
idea of a "SitayanaC he gently warned me against the ambiguities
and pitfalls ahead. The common reaction to Rama’s rejection of
Sita (the first time, in Lanka, seemingly driven by a surge of jealousy ;
and the second time as an answer to the vicious loose talk among
the people) is violent disapproval, which may no doul)t be construed
as an expression of modern ‘humanism' or even as a fonn of
‘Women’s Lib.’ partisanship. The more important point! however,
is that, while in other countries it is apparently natural to center
Divinity in a male image, in India Godhead is equally — and even
more plausibly and frequently — identified with the splendour of
the Eternal Feminine in Her infinite variety of form and function
and redemptive mihistry. But under the influence of Western
thought during the last two centuries, wc too seem to have ‘ditched’
the softer side of our nature and destiny that womanhood, moth^jr-
hood, represents, and become wholly hypnotised by the so-callcd
rational-linear thought buttressing our masculine civilisation.
In this context, a Sitayana — a presentation that is, as it were,
complementary to the traditional Rama-Sita story and in no way
repugnant to Valmiki’s itihdsa — migKt not be altogether irrelevant.
Thus it wasn’t my intention to laud Sita at the expense of Rama, for
my Sitayana is Rama’s story too, nothing essential omitted nor
“aught set down in malice;” and the fatality and seeming finality
of Sita’s withdrawal is followed by Rama’s acceptance and tran-
scendence of the event in the concluding Canto. Sita and Rama aie
alike lovabk yet awe-inspiring figures, among the sublimest con-
ceivable of humankind; and although unaware or but dimly
understood by them, they also manifest powers of consciousness

XV

Introduction

surpassing the human, , advance human evolution

towards far horizons.

As in my earlier The Epic BeautifuE, here too the verse Ibrm
used is the 10-7-10-7 syllabic unrhymed quatrain. Griffith and
Dutt thought that the octosyllabic rhymed couplet or the Tenny-
sonian ‘Locksley Hall’ metre was a near equivalent to the anushtup
that traditionally precipitated itself as a spontaneous expression
of Valmiki’s grief on witnessing the cruel killing by a hunter of a
male krouncha bird while at love-play with its mate. Actually,
Dutt’s long lines usually have a pause in the middle and are apt to
divide into 8-7-8-7 quatrains. My unrhymed quatrain is a cross
between prose and regular metrical verse, and on the basis of my
limited success in The Epic Beautifur, 1 thought this was a nearer
approximation to the anushtup movement than blank verse on
the one hand or a very rigid stanza mould on the other. There is no
intrusion of ‘poetic diction’, and I have generally steered clear of
inversi<tiis, archaisms and the like. Now at the end of my labours,

! 1 rankly ask myself whether the final product isn’t, after all.
disconcertingly like prose cut up to look like verse. My (mly hope -
or hope against hope - is that, along with this impression, some-
:hing else ,o nay make itself fell: for the span of thought often
overflows the feet of sound in the quatrain measure, and besides
hieakfng or softening the metrical monotony, one may feel cons-
cious perhaps — especially when read at some length — of a rc-
‘‘■Miably viable rhythmic flow as well.

IV

A word here about the uncertain zig-zag manner in which
Sitayana came to be written over a period of about three years.
Having hesitated for months, I took the plunge at last, and wrote
the ‘Prologue’ on 1 January 1883, aftei an early morning visit to
the Hanuman Temple (wh^ch is also the Temple of Rama, Sita and
Lakshmana) in Royapettah High Road, Madras. It was a brief
hour*of euphoria spurred by the faith that 1 had godspeed for my
obviously reckles- adventure from the installed Deities in the
Temple.

Days, weeks passed. While 1 had a vague notion th it Sitayana
would be a Bridge in Seven Spans beginning with ‘Mithila’ and
ending with ‘Ashrama,’ I didn’t know how exactly to begin. One
day, however, leaving out the ‘beginning’ to begin itself at the
appropriate time, I plunged — in medias res fashion— into Dan-

xvi Introduction

daka and found it easier to wade my way through the ‘Aranya’.
And ‘Atri and Anasuya’ (although in Valmiki this episode comes
at the end of ‘Ayodhya’) became an auspicious start. Then the
encounter with the monster, Viradha; the meeting with the Sages
Sarabhanga and Sutikshna; the unusual argument between Sita
and Rama about ceaseless punitive action against the Rakshasas
in Dandaka ; and the round of visits to the Ashramas.

Suddenly, on 19 March 1883, just before dawn, the first lines of
‘Mithila’ came to me in a dream-state, and I got up and wrote
them down :

The famed philosopher-king, Janaka,
paid obeisance to the Bard
of the Worlds, Narada, as he floated
into Mithila’s domain ...

Now the going was good, and I went on during the next weeks and
months with ‘Mithila’ and ‘Ayodhya’, till the narrative linked with
the already begun ‘Aranya’. The work, launched at my residence
‘Matri Bhavan’ in Mylapore, was continued at Vfsakhapatnam
at my daughter Prema’s place, and usually I sat under a hospitable
Neem Tree (imagining it was really the Simsupa) and 'wrestled
with my self-assigned task of re-telling the Ramayana as Sitayana,
the same long-cherished epic Tale, but with a new shift in emphasis.
There was fairly steady progress now — notwithstanding igter-
ruptions, other preocqupations, and lean periods or desert stretches
of total inaction — throughout 1883 and 1884. In the meantime, I
had moved from Mylapore to my son Ambirajan’s new house at
Alwarpet, and I paid a brief visit in December 1883 to my ancestraj
village, Kodaganallur, on the banks of Tambravarni. My note-
books too travelled with me, and 1 would make additions and
alterations as the mood dictated.

Naturally, where I translated or summarised Valmiki, it was
comparatively rather less taxing than when, more often, I had to
draw upon my own severely circumscribed ‘creative’ powers, fn the
‘Yuddha’, by opting for reportage by Tri/ata, Anala and Sarama
rather than straightforward narration, I had created difficulties
for myself. And the last phase of Sita’s life in Valmiki’s Ashrama
asked for a meditative trance of identification for which I was of
course totally unequal. There were the periodic depressions too
and attacks by what can only be called (for want of a better term)
‘adverse forces’. It was thus no small satisfaction that by Decembef

xvii Introduction

1884 the first draft of Sitayana — running to rather less than 5000
quatrains — was ready, and I could clinch it all with the ‘Epilogue’.

In the meantime, ‘Atri and Anasuya’ had appeared in Bhavan 's
Journal (1 August 1884), and Ska’s remonstrance with Rama about
his promised crusade against the Dandaka Rakshasas (Canto 24)
in Call Beyond (New Delhi). During 1885, I returned to Sitayana
fitfully, making additions and revisions with numerous inter-
lineations and transpositions in the first draft. One rather sub-
stantial addition was Rama’s long discourse to Bharata on Raja
Dharma, which presently appeared in Bhavan s Journal (16 March,
1 April and 16 April 1885). Among other additions were the two
Cantos (49 and 50) in ‘Yuddha’ relating to Ravana’s Dream during
the night after his defeat at Rama’s hands, and the generous reprieve
from the victor that the defeated might retire from the battlefield in
peace and return another day to resume the fight. Yet another
grafting was the meeting between Sita and Nadopasini (in Canto
69), and this episode has recently come out in Bhavan s Journal
(16 Apr ;; 1886).

Ihe manuscript was complete at last in 12 bound note-books,
and I began typing at the rate of a few pages a day, and the work
concluded Jby mid-1865. Then the Notes, a laborious affair, and
finally this In^ eduction. As far as 1 am concerned, then, Sitayana:
Epic of the Earth-born is complete, and I offer it, with all its defects
of planning and execution, at the alter of the Mother.

V

/\ nnal submission or confession. In Royapettah High Road,
the Hanuman Temple is within a few yards of the Mahamaho*
padhyaya Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute. On 7 May 1883,
after giving a talk at the Institute on ‘The Aesthesis of Irony’ with
special reference to the Ramayana of Valmiki, on my way home,
1 stepped into the Temple, my wife accompanying me, and we
offered our obeisance to Ranja, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman.
At one level of understanding — call it the aesthetic, if you will —
they are superb character-g-eations by the first and greatest of epic
poets; and at anothei level — the religious and spiritual — they are
emanations, divine powers and personalities who inspire sustained
devotion and spray constant benevolence and protection. At the
Institute, I had presumptuously ventured to weigh in the critical
and ethical balance Rama’s rejection of Sita at Lanka and again at
Ayodhya, and Sita’s strangely compelling attraction for the ‘golden
deer’ and her hysterically harsh words to Lakshmana, as though

xviii Introduction

Rama and Sila were but flawed fellow human beings or mere
characters in a work of literature, like say Hamlet and Ophelia.
And a few minutes after, walking down the road and entering the
Temple, we saw in the iconised Sita the Grace Divine, in Rama the
living image of Eternal Dharma, in Lakshmana the flawless un-
failing Serviteur of the Divine, and in Hanuman the archetypal
Brazier of Bhakti or Devotion. Sita had never been separated from
Rama at all; and the supreme Serviteur, Lakshmana, and the
deathless Devotee, Hanuman, were around all the time, a quadruple
glory of the radiance Divine for chasing all mists and smogs and
shadows away.

Yes: do I, then, diet on contradictions? Very well, then; my
Sitayana aesthesis essays co-existence with my deeper religious
and spiritual needs. And this is more than — much more than —
just ‘negative capability’; it is verily poetry straining after prayer
and playing the paraclete-role, and at least with the Adi-Kavi’s
Ramayana, poetic experience or kavyanubhava gently and imper-
ceptibly points the way to Brahmanubhava. I look again and fix
my soul’s gaze on Sita, now almost oblivious of the others; and 1
see

She is the golden bridge, the wonderful fire;
The luminous heart of the Unknown is she,
A power of silence in the depths of God.*

‘Sydney House’

277 -B, T.T.K. Road
Alwarpet, Madras; 600018

K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar

SITAYANA; EPIC OF THE EARTH-BORN

PROLOGUE

Of womanhood I write, of the travail
and glory of motherhood;
of Prakriti and her infinite modes
and unceasing variety ;

of the primordial Shakti’s myriad
manifestations on earth ;
of the lure and leap of transcendences
of the ruby feminine;

of the surge of waves of the sea ot bliss
aiid me foam of ecstasy;
of the naked <|ust-born innocences
and their eyes of vast surmise;

of girlhdod -eething with intimations
from Po'.crs invisible
and trailing blinding illuminations
from the spirit-realms above;

of the churn of sorrow and sufferance,
of love and fatality,

of Dawn's daughters bathed in beauty and love
^ and tuned to consecration ;

of the hearth desecrated, the hostess
seized and flown to distant climes;
of the intolerable sundering

and the scalding memories;

•

of tha drain of strength and hope, of the reign
of lassitude and despiyr;
of the climactic clash of rival arms,
of the eclipse of Evil ;

of the holy, fair and chaste on trial,
and killing Darkness at Noon;
of the insulted Wife’s fire-ordeal,

^ and the gold more golden yet ;

XX Prologue

of the interim of felicity
and the glow of sovereignty;
of the serpent-tongue and spue of poison,
and the second rejection;

of the heart’s welcome in the Muni’s hut
and the crowning motherhood;
and the injured woman’s hnal gesture,
and the return to her Home . . .

0 Mother, mighty, fair, immaculate,
your compassionate descent,
your divine ministry of sufferance
amidst us, hasn’t been in vain.

Not in vain, for although the average
and even the elect fail
oftentimes in charity, yet we know
your Grace will redeem us still.

book: one

IVI ITT H ¥ L

Canto 1 : Narada and Janaka

The famed philosopher-king, Janaka,
paid obeisance to the Bard
of the Worlds, Narada, as he floated
into Mithila’s domain.

He came trailing resonances of joy
and ardour ineffable,
and his divine chants invaded the earth
and filled the air with delight.

After King and Sage had seated themselves
in the great Audience Hall,
they discoursed on the knot of life and death,
and iht: ways of Providence.

Janaka spoke, •and the race found its voice:

' O Sage and minstrel Divine!
for all our spiralling dialectics,
certainty still eludes us.

I know’some of the wisest of the wise
who make epic climbs of thought
or date blinding flights of speculation
that leave me breathless behind.

What a galaxy of self-illumined
,ecstatics — a choice of saints,
ascetics and disciplined tapasvim,
and sundry effulgent seers !

Who’s esteemlier than Satananda,

Sage Gautama’s and stai -crossed
Ahalya’s holy son, and exeiflplar
of ahstere and wise living?

And the scintillating Yajnavalkya
self-lost in the Ultimate,
and his spouse, Maitreyi, who draws upon
the Spirit’s living waters;

and there are others, their names are legends :

Gargi the Vachaknavi
for example, whose gift for questioning
releases Truths ambrosial.

4 Sitayana

Many a long year Tve lived, O great Sage,
tasted the thrill of action,
the animation of debate, and known
seasons of self-transcendence.

We swing between the poles of existence :

here at the nadir, a tale
by an idiot told, a race towards
the final embrace of Death;

and at the summit of the mystic-stair,
a Nirvanic cessation,
a melting of the mist of Unknowing,
a taste of the Eternal.

But what teases, what defeats, is the lack
of an infallible link

that makes acceptable at once both ends
of the existential run.

The mind is tortured with incertitudes :

it would gladly deny one,
or the other, or both ; it refuses
the proffered felicity.

O wise and all-knowing Sage! could you not
minister to my unease,
my mind perplexed, and reaffirm the Law
that holds the poles together?”

And Narada answered: "Need you ask me,
O philosopher-king, whose
wisdom is proverbial, and whose poise
of being is praised by all?

Reason as we may, and untie the knots
of deceptive Appearance,
there’s a road-sign at last barring the way :
‘Beware! lest your head should fall!’

The real is the immeasurable
inelTable Permanent,

but how about the foam, froth, bubble-glow
of this phenomenal life?

You may wave it all away as Maya,
as the mask of illusion ;
you may hug ii a\ Lila, a dream-play
real enough when it lasts.

5 Narada and Janaka

You want to be shown the nexus between
the two hemispheric nodes,
you want laid a granite highway linking
the contradictory poles.

The shining face of Truth is camouflaged
by a blinding golden lid:
so too the sense of the symbol is lost
amidst the folds of the doll.

The Horse of the Sacrifice comprehends
the whole arc of Existence,
but dazzled by detail, we sway between
immortality and death.

There’s the occult interpenetration
of everything in all things,
and although you may see this in a flash,
da’lr*^ss covers up again.

The cosmos t^affles us with its vastness,
the atom by its smallness;
but lookj the great is caught in the little,
and the Pcari contains the net.

Yet uifder the stress of harsh circumstance,
the noise and fury of life,
the dnitive feeling recedes or fades,
and we fall on thorns again.

In our all too familiar earth-theatre,
for aeons have been witnessed
ttie display of demoniac might, and its
eventual overthrow.

Such has always been the horrendous tale
of the Asuric ego

committing excesses that mfist provoke
a hMocaust of itself.

Animal strength and vital energy,
a tiger’s terrible claws,
a jackal’s cunning, a crocodile's grip,
an elephant’s mountain-mould:

sometime^, too, a singular ensemble
of excellent qualities,
jfet marred by a single mole of nature
explosive in the context :

6 Sitayana

and even so, the ruthless enemies
of men and gods and the world
have from time to time, for periods long
or short, imposed their misrule,

and the Divine with its emanations
has had to fight like with like,
letting the biters being bit, the false
caught in their complacencies.

Why not, for a change, an alternative
strategy, rule of action,
philosophy of life, or askesis
of change through immobile Force?”

Narada paused, as if waiting to see
Janaka’s first reactions,
and the King too seemed to feel uneasy
and answered after a while;

"Of course, O Rishi, there has been so far
a wearisome agenda :

might, courage and cunning have been mastered
by like but enhanced powers.

People have submitted to sufferance
when other choice they had none ;
but cannot suffering itself become
a lactic of transcendence?

Mankind has always sought to propitiate
the gods, or the Ultimate,
with good works and liberal offerings,
or a climb towards the Light.

The kinetic beings, the Rakshasas,
driven inexorably
by their egos, their fatalistic push,
have won outrageous powers.

An invasion of the Invisible
is the mind’s prerogative;
the occult is pursued and mobilised,
and the ego grows new wings.

But for the o’erwhelitiing majority —
the average nnd obscure —
whom power and knowledge alike evade,
there must be a simpler way.

7 Narada and Janaka

O celestial singer, Sage and Rishi,
are all puissance and power
and the higher felicity reserved
I for the privileged alone?”

Narada seemed to relish the new turn
the dialogue was taking,
and with the hint of an approving smile
he spoke in a measured tone :

“It is the enigma of human life,

O King, that double-edged mind
hankers after things, and when they’ve been won,
finds them wormwood to the taste.

There’s never any ^ense of fulfilment,
only these opposing pulls :
a mad craving for some more, or what’s worse,
a dull death -like satiety.

A few are lost Tn the splendid rigours
of the grand dialectic
of introspection the exploration
and the finding of the Self.

Their so*als shine like stars in isolation,
thex dwell apart in their own
eloquent immaculate silences;
and their mere presence inspires.

The High Priests have mastered the minutiae
of Vedic sacrifices,

and ’tis they hold the key to the traffic
between Here and Hereafter.

An Asvamedha, a Vajapeya,
or similar sacrifice

may be well within the means of a King,

but not the common people.

•

And although the prime mover and gainer
may be the King, the great gifts
of the sacrifice may o’erflow and reach
the commonalty as well.

But there’s something more, a supreme charter
,for all the voiceless millions,
the drawers of water, hewers of wood,
labourers in the quarries.

8 Sitayana

There’s a mysterious force, a movement
or wafture of consciousness,
an elemental cohesive power,
a Grace that rules and pervades.

This is the wondrous covenant called Love,
the secret sustaining warmth,
the primordial Law of the Universe,
the sole sufficing mystique.

And it’s well within the parameter
of the humblest of humans,
the wretchedest of our opulent earth,
the worst wronged and most deprived.

This all-pervading all-prevailing Force
which holds atoms together,
makes the star-studded firmament revolve -
or so it seems! — around us:

this divine law of consanguinity
that cements relationships
between a variety of kith and kin,
and the King and his subjects:

unites the citizenry of Nature,
the immeasurable wealth
of flora and fauna, the denizens
of the field and tjie forest,

the endlessly fascinating empires
of birds, butterflies, reptiles,
the woodland kingdoms of wet and wildness,
the Himalayan glories:

the munificence of colour displayed
in a million formations,
correlated fiefdoms spotted and pieced
with a lavish abandon :

extensive dominions of musical
notes and autonomous sounds
enacting contrapuntal exchanges,
symphonic orchestrations :

and wondef of wonders, O King, the smells,
perfumes, odours a thousand
of champak, jasmine, parijata, rose,
each with its own uniquencess:

9 Narada and Janaka

and the feel of life on earth, the softness,
the silkiness, the melting
tenderness of the sticky leaves of spring,

the friendliness of the trees : 60

and the nectarean taste of water
• as it flows in the river,
the infinite diversity of taste —

of honey, palm- wine, fruits, roots! 61

O King, don’t we feel the fascination
of all this motley, this sheer
extravagance of manifestation

of our Bhuvaneshvari? 62

And it’s this infallible Law of Love
that preserves our world intact
despite the play of ^wanton distortions,

negations and perversions. 63

What I’m- saying, O King, is nothing new,
for weiv. (t not for this force
this orchestrated universe would have
gone to blazes long ago. 64

Now surely the Supreme that keeps going
this splendid cosmic concert,
that source of all Truth, Life, Light, Beauty, Bliss,
must alone be our refuge. 65

For the vast multitude, then, what’s easier
than the worship of the Lord,
or the Lord and Mother Parashakti,
yi love and adoration? 66

Even the most disprivileged in life
has known, in his life’s journey,
the pangs and ecstasy of love sometimes,

and the crown of fulfilment. 67

•

Dawn after a dark night, a rainbow arc
trailing a heavy shower,
a bird’s cry, a child’* smile, a gardenscape,
and we sense Love’s ambience. 68

Why not, then, turn this emotion of love,
canalise and direct it
towards its own originating Home,
the Power and Grace of God?

69

1 0 Sitayana

There’s love and love — of possessions, persons,
positions — and there’s the love
of the indwelling God in everything,
and of the Transcendent too.

O King, the miserable of the earth
fallen on gravel or thorns
find it no great effort to surrender
their broken fortunes to God.

Beyond all fever and fret, fallen nude
before the Lord’s felt Presence,
the God-lover can beyond the earlier
adhesions and revulsions.

This love unique is a heady canter,
and there’s no more severance
from the Lord, no divorce from this frenzy
of union with the Divine.

All worldly-wise attachments, all cravings,
all careful contrivances,
all laboured calculations crumble down
or wither away for good.

And so, O King, the disinherited
of the earth have their short-cuts
to felicity denied to the wise,
the learned and the clever!”

Then Janaka, having pondered the words
of the celestial singer,
and eager to draw him out still farther,
offered his observations:

“O winged wanderer in the three worlds,

O master-minstrel of Time
and Eternity, you’ve indeed opened
the casements to the Future.

Too long, O Rishi, too long has mankind
walked the stale and weary road
of birth, bondage and death, and more ana more,
the same birth, bondage and death.

Some few, the happily endowed, may have
by their, severe askesis
gained release from the unending serfdom
of the whirl of birth and death.

1 1 Narada and Janaka

Be it the sunrise of Brahma-Knowledge,
the climb of the leaping flames
from the Sacriflcial Hall, or good works
as prayer of the body,

the elect or the chosen have always
won their release from bondage,
but leaving unredeemed the milling mass
of miscellaneous mankind.

It looks to me, O minstrel of the Spheres,
that what you expound could be
the ready infallible means for all
mankind to return to God."

Narada, Traveller of the Worlds, smiled
as if feeling gratified
with King Janak^’s insightful response,
and presently continued:

"The Wfty of love and devotion, O King,
niay nave lured some in the past,
yet it’s our time and the ages to come
that will need this Sun-lit path.

But there’s catch too that might inhibit,
for the heart’s not easily
engaged by a Power only inferred,
not confronted face to face.

m

Those that are vouchsafed apocalyptic
unforgettable visions
are few, and as for the others, they look
, for the incarnate Divine.

Sudden flashes that reveal the summits
are fast o’ertaken by Night,
and the mind in its unease is slirouded
by the clouds of confusion.

In thi€ rare hour of the unexpected,
so instinct with potency
and promise, the call is for the advent
of the visible Divine.

The King-Whale, the Tortoise, the Giant-Boar,
the terrible Man-Lion,
the brief sojourn of the Dwarf-Colossus:

^ they were of the ages past.

1 2 Sitayana

If only our age with its discontents
and proneness to suffering
could invoke the descent of the Divine
in a meltingly fair form,

that Radiance, the blessed Feminine,
that compassionate Power,
that symbol of Shakti as sufferance,
might usher in a New Dawn.

The unnumbered millions of the faceless
anonymous unredeemed
of the earth might cry with their hearts of love
and feel invaded by Grace.

When the miscellany of unredeemed
humankind, the occupants
of this greatly flawed but unfinished world,
perceive the divine-human :

someone that’s seemingly bone of their bone
and flesh of their flesh, subject
to the uncertainties of human life
yet triumphantly divine :

this may signalise a new adventure
of consciousness, enacting
a beyonding of human misery
by the fire of sufferance.

It may seem paradoxical, O King,
but a new incarnation,
the Grace as feminine incandescence,
may yet redeem the wide world ;

a manifestation and ministry,
recognisably human
yet intrinsically Divine, may charge
all the earth with life anew.

Flawed but aspirant humanity needs,
not a heady cosmic stair
between the sloughs and the far-off summits,
but such a living Presence.

The maimed are scared by the stairway and pray
for a brazier of Grace
and Glory, not the less human, although
quintessentiaUy divine.”

1 3 Narada and Janaka

The King of Videha now let the words
seep into his soul’s stillness,
and hearkening to the voice from the depths,
spoke measuredly to the Sage:

“All past discontents and all future hopes
find speech in you. Sojourner
in the Spheres, and you would coax the coming
of an earth-descended Grace.

But the earth has seen avatars ere now,
and you’ve listed some of them ;
but always, after a brief interim,
chaos has trooped back again.

And Mahalakshmi has manifested
and destroyed the Asura
Mahisha; and Mahasarasvati,
both Shumba and Nishumba.

Agaiii and again the Power Supreme —
or its prime Emanation -
has fought to contain the Asura’s might;
yet heT^ources back, always!”

“Think; not. Enlightened King,” said Narada,

‘ all hope of good is hopeless;
it’s sVill an incomplete world that we see,
and the churning must go on.

Sunrise and sunset and sunrise again,
the rhythm of the seasons,
the cycle of birth, growth, decay and death,
no mere monotony this!

In the great cosmic choreography,
the Divine is self-involved
in the unfolding of Evolution
for«the Future’s ordering.

Diverse the deputations Trom Above
that are tested and withdrawn ;
now it may be the turn of Woman, fair,
fire-pure and long-suffering!”

Alert to seize the clue, Janaka cried:

“Blest Seer! you’ve said already
that on our earth sword has been met by sword,
cunning by greater cunning.

14 Sitayana

And as this see-saw seems an endless game,
aren’t you prophesying, then,
another of the Transcendent’s descents,
now as Mother of Sorrows?”

The Sage answered with a smile : “A prayer,
a hope, but no prophecy;
after the violence and waste of crime
and reprisal, what remains?

O Seer-King, it’s time you initiated
a Sacrifice, and gave shape
and substance to the anguish of the race,
and its hope of redemption.”

Then, with a gesture of benediction,
the preeminent Bard rose
and disappeared in the air high above
scattering ambrosial notes.

But the harmonies encircled the earth
for its greater well-being,
like the ineluctable melodies
of the music of the spheres.

Canto 2 : Janaka

Back in his private chambers, Janaka
the Mithilan patriarch
felt the birth-pangs of a seminal thought
and looked for sanction within.

As he sat in a meditative pose
he knew not hours, days or nights;
all thoughts, hopes, despairs were in a fury
of fusion and extinction.

In the cleared sky of his quietened mind
he saw forms appear and pass,
and it was as though a rare tapestry
demanded his attention.

First Nimi hii hoary progenitor,
whose Sattra Sacrifice ran
into disaster, his High Priest cursing
and bein'^^ cu sed back in turn.

How vulnerable were the ways of men :

the best of Sages ! the best
of Kfhgs! Was it fatality that drove
the two to instant ruin?

Yet the High Priest achieved rebirth, and claimed
Mithra-Varuna as Sire;
and Nimi, churned in the sacrificial
Fire, emerged as Janaka.

Hadn’t Nimi asked for his soul’s safe lodgement
within the eyelids of alP
The eyes and ears of the wflrld ! the heart-beats
of all, all living creatures !

•

Thus Nimi becam«. Mithi the Churned One;

and Videha, for he had
lost and found his body; and Janaka,
the marvellous puissant one!

That was the founder of the Dynasty,
the forerunner of his race ;
the first of the Rulers of Mithila,
and the great Vaidehan King.

16 Sitayana

After that well-beloved sainted King,
his son, Udavasu; then
his son, Nandivardhana ; and so on :

Suketu, Devarata.

The revered Brihadrata succeeded;

then gallant Mahavira,

Sudhriti, Dhrishtaketu, Haryasva,
and a royal line of kings:

Maru, Prateendhaka, Keertirata,

Devamidha, and Vibhu:
and four worthy generations after,
the mighty Hrasvaroma.

Like a series of stately forest oaks
that genealogy stood out;
and in the austere poise of his silence
the King felt the reign of peace.

As sons of the righteous Hrasvaroma,
the brothers Janaka and
Kusadhvaja had been ruling by love
Mithila and Videha.

But was there a hint, perhaps, of divine
dissatisfaction? The thought,
as often before, crossed his horizon
even in that state of trance.

All was abolished indeed, all flutter
of excitement, all fever
of self-flaggelation, all spasmodic
schemes to fashion the future.

No son sprung from his loins would succeed him
on the throne of Mithila;
but, then, he had presumed not to question
the decrees of Providence.

But what did Rishi Narada intend
by casting the seed of this
ambrosial idea, a Sacrifice
for the racial well-being?

%

In the solvent of unrelenting Time,

Yugas and Manvantaras
with their bulging and bursting dominions
have left few traces behind.

17 Janaka

What the curious human eye perceives
amid all the tricks and turns
of the ages is a mosaic of truths,

half-truths and lies seen darkly. 1 34

But in rare moments of self-exceeding
the dichotomies may merge,
the divisive walls tumble and dissolve,

and peace crystallise at last. 135

In a sudden canter of consciousness
Janaka saw the border
between surmise and certainty vanish,
and felt half-dazed by the Light. 1 36

What was that Radiance unparalleled
that had neither concrete form
nor force, yet whose native silence of Grace

shone as invincible Might? 137

Twas nOw as though a million elements
ot feminine sovereignty,
a million Lighits of the joy of the world,

had coalesced with the Vision. 1 38

•

But viewed again, from a different stance,
wasnjt the glory incarnate
the pooled reservoir of the tears in things,
the. true sufferance sublime? 139

The serenity of the cow-goddess :

the bedewed face of the Dawn :
the taut resignation of the bereaved :

» all made that marvel image. 140

Or was it only an insubstantial
dream-vision, or possibly
a parable of the pure saviour-grace
of the twilight of the god§? 141

That icon of beauty ineffable
carried the infinitudes*
of suffering and melting compassion,

and breathed an other- world air. 142

She seemed young yet ageless, her serene smile
signified endless travail,
her poise of perfect immobility
^ seemed to screen the Wheels of Doom.

143

18 Sitayana

Even in the deep quiet of his trance
the King felt the invasion
of an incomprehensible delight,
the sheer reign of ecstasy.

144

It was a tearing of Appearances,
a shattering of the veils,
an unearthly apocalyptic flash
that opened up everything.

145

That single visage, rich and radiant,
and the ensemble of limbs
seemed the sum of the past, present, future,
and their legacy of pain.

146

Varied yet harmonising were the lights
that seemed to play hide and seek,
yet presented an arrested moment
in the dance of a goddess.

147

The Sage fixed his steady reverent gaze
on the manifestation
human and divine, youthful and mature,
transient and eternal.

148

His enraptured eyes shifted from the feet
so small, shapely, behovely,
and lingeringly dwelt on the Mother,
her all-comprehending look.

•

«

. 149

And he felt confused,.and he imagined
he heard polysymphonic
voices, or glimpsed kaleidoscopic turns
of candid femineity.

150

She was not goddess, she was not woman,
she was not the Beloved;
she was neither Empress nor servant-maid,
neither mother nor daughter.

151

She was inclusive, not isolable ;
creatrix, mediatrix,

hermitress, enchantress. Mother of Love,

Madonna of Might and Light!

152

In a vouchsafed moment of clairvoyance,
the Sage saw the full circle
comprising in its elected spaces
the terrestrial drama:

153

19 Janaka

all the complex manifoldness of life,
all dazzling contradictions;
the ironies of miscalculation,
the epics of achievement;

the satires of sinister circumstance,
the lyrics of self-abuse;
also the slow climbs of aspiration,
the answering gifts of Grace!

Even in his imperturbable calm —
his body a living soul ! —
there was now a strange commotion within,
and the stasis was ended.

The gateways to the Future burst open,
vista succeeded vista,
the incompatible^ clashed and mingled,
and the scenic-sequence dimmed.

As he Ifalf figured out the intestine
straggle, the serpentine twists,
a shudder almost convulsed his being,

and he felt least like himself.

•

A serried hierarchy of realms — the worlds
of flight above, the nether
worlds of Darkness, and the regions between
a blinding apocalypse !

But the traditional categories —
good and evil, fair and foul,
joy and suffering — wrestled and writhed like
a maddened knot of vipers.

At the apex of the cone of brightness,
the tarlarean black holes;
and at the nadir of compulsive night,
the Grace- Light of rene\val!

Awefl was the inheritor of Nimi :

his seeing and feeling eye
felt repelled by a world without pity
and incapable of love.

As the singular images sprouted,
burst into bloom, then parted
from the parent, sought novel adhesions
0 and achieved transformation :

20 Sitayana

there behind the baffling vicissitudes
bearing and sustaining all,
the Mother immaculate reigned supreme,

solely and severally. 164

In a luminous moment of self-sight
he read the mystic message,
and receptive to a great rush of hope

felt transcendentally free. 165

Thus the sinking into the oblivion
of zero-infinity

meant the shattering of all barriers

and mingling with the waters. 166

The dissolution of all difference
was yet an invitation
for a p)erfect sharing of essences

and new crystallisation. 167

Now completely restored to waking life
and its pressing anxieties,
the Lord of Mithila wondered how long

the trance-state had tethered him. 168

An hour or a week of days meant nothing;

he was, as often before,
translated to a world where he could feel

there was no more time at all. * 169

The emergence out of stark nothingness
had likewise meant a rebound,
a willing acceptance of the cage-house

patented by Space and Time. 170

The sojourn to the realms invisible
had alternately tossed him
between the raging gulfs of division

and the lone summit of Grace. 171

With no great effort, the Sage could shake off
the clinging clothes of dolour
and return to the primordial Mother
with a heart tuned in prayer.

Everything came back to Janaka now :

the descen’*: of Narada,
the unforgettable conversation,
the parting exhortation.

172

21 Janaka

Initiate a Sacrifice, the great Bard
had suggested, one that would
articulate the racial agony

and prayer for retrieval. i

Janaka hadn’t let his childlessness prey
on his sensibility,

but the music of humanity’s pangs
was a different matter. 175

Destiny had cast upon him the role
of the Leader of the Race,
and he had inherited gieat Nimi’?
universal sympathies. 176

The flickering of eyelids anywhere,
the saltish burn and release
of the flood of tecws from the deep whirlpools
of the tortured human heart : 177

Nimi hcu^ suffered a profound kinship
with the trials and sorrows
of the race everywhere, and Janaka,

his trustee, could do no less. 178

•

It was in order, ihen, he should issue
the c^ll for a sacrifice
for universal human well-being

and* the start of a New Age. 179

The King now recalled the Horse Sacrifice
near the banks of Sarayu
for the widely revered Dasaratha’s

attaining a worthy heir. 180

That was less than three years ago, and great
was the mobilisation
of Ayodhya’s resources, secular

as well as spiritual. 181

Janaka was present in Kosala,

a prized guest, ard had watched how
Vasishta and Rishya-Sringa guided

the steps of the . acrifice. 182

The King of the Kekayas was there too,
and so were Romapada
of the Angas, the Lord of Kasi, and
^ Kings from the East, West and South.

183

22 Sitayana

A complex of ritual and mystique
and sustained aspiration,
the Sacarifice had gone on for some days
fulfilling the requirements :

the grand ceremonial installation
of the sacrificial stakes;
the high architecture of the altar,
the sure kindling of the flame;

the hundreds of animals, snakes and birds
gathered for the Sacrifice,
and, centrally, the magnificent Horse
for the ritual slaughter;

the pressing of the soma elixir,
and its offer to the gods;
the rhythmic chants of the ordained mantras,
and oblations in the Fire.

Janaka could now recall Kausalya,

Dasaratha’s eldest Queen,
her eyes lit with faith, drawing symbolic
cutting sword-lines on the Horse.

The cermony so complicated,
aiming at the annulment
of sins, had proceeded without a hitch;
and Dasaratha was blest.

Only then, cleansed of past rusts, could the King
seek Rishya-Sringa’s gracious
intervention for the prolongation
Of Ikshvaku’s royal Line.

That famed Rishi had then initiated
the decisive Sacrifice,

and the emerging milk-food for the Queens
had meant the birth of the sons.

A burst of great rejoicing had greeted
the first-born, known as Rama,

Kausalya’s son; Bharata, Lakshmana,

Satrughna were the others.

As he recalled how Narada had sown
this sole idea so pregnant
for the future, Janaka felt a stir
of hope in his deeper self.

23 Janaka

He knew the whirl of phenomenal life
was also a Sacrifice;

Prakriti had her own intriguing ways
of kneading and shaping things.

^ But it was Man’s prerogative alone,
not lazily to accept
the badges of his defects and defeats,
but strive for their surpassing.

The question was larger than Mithila,
and Janaka felt concerned,
not because Nimi’s royal line of Kings
ran the risk of extinction ;

humanity’s fate was itself at stake —
whether it would accomplish
sure self-mastery aoid self-surpassing
giving a lead to Nature,

or whe‘hC;r. with his veiled rapacity
coming into the open,
purblind Man ^ould only run the mad race
towrds annihilation.

This was the o’ci whelming question: whether
the human race wouldn’t enact
sane living and survive, and march towards
a new Heaven, a new Earth.

Janaka’s dream-vision of the glory
that backgrounds all existence:
could he but coax its puissant Presence here
what might not be accomplished?

Dasaratha had sought Rishya-Sringa’s
help, and now Janaka felt
he should have a word with Yajnavalkya
before making up his mini}.

Canto 3 : Janaka and Yajnavalkya

Not long after, the King of Mithila
met the sage, Yajnavalkya,
in the spacious grounds of his hermitage
to seek his mature counsel.

After the disciples had taken leave,

Janaka made a report
of Rishi Narada’s recent visit,
and the drift of their debate.

“Stationed as you are in Brahma-Jnana”,
said Janaka to the Sage,

“advise me, O First of the Enlightened,
how best I may serve the race.”

Awhile Yajnavalkya was rapt in thought,
and then found the fitting words :

“There’s nothing you don’t know, O King among
Rishis, and realised One!

The celestial Bard wings and sings his way
throughout the worlds of the gods,
men and titans, and makes a sweep from Time
past to the furthest future.

His seminal reading of the complex
of terrestrial ends and means,
his hint of a redemptive Sacrifice,
his parting benediction —

Certainly, O scion of Mithi’s line,
the Bard’s visitation, its
timing, urgency and authority,
imply sanction from afar.

And yet, O King, as you’re doubtless aware,
there’s a hierarchy of planes
of consciousness, and all must depend on
where you are, and what you want.

Many are those caught in the endless coil
of the htman adventure,
and all they seek is a repetition
of the old cyclical whirl.

25 Janaka and Yajnavalkya

Some few who have achieved self-mastery
and ceased to be passion’s slaves
may transcend the round of likes and dislikes
and shine as Jivanmuktas.

When one cannot see oneself as distinct
from the concert of the whole,
where is the room for fresh preferences
or measures to attain them?

When one’s caught in the cosmic passion-play,
one sees the discordances
as notes of the evolving symphony
racing forever forward

O King, you had yourself reacted once
on the report of a fire ;

‘Should even all Mithila be ablaze,
wb\ .houid it concern my Self?’

No doubt, the«moment the words were spoken,
another courier came

and gave.news the fire had been extinguished,
and relief vva:> in progress.

How cat! I advise, O Raja Rishi,
since you are yourself grounded
on the limitless and immutable,
and nothing is hid from you?”

Janaka let the words sink deep within
and filter into the soul’s
recesses, and assessing the issue,
made answer to the great Sage :

“I still falter and fumble on the path,

O blest Seei and rare Master,
and the burden of kingship bft obscures
the Vision of the Jnani.

And, besides, as Father of my Nation
and Leader on its onward
march, there are expectations and duties
that I may not quite disown.

It is easy enough to underline
the symbolic overtones
5f the celebrated Asvamedha,
the best of Sacrifices.

26 Sitayana

The roaming Horse, majestic and mighty,
exuding infinite force;

Time be its heart-beats, freedom its playground,
and the worlds are its domain. 221

Nature in her lavish munificence,
as also in her faultless
sense of the minutiae, is reflected
in the sacrificial Horse. 222

Dawn is the Horse’s head, the Sun its eyes,
the Wind its breath. Fire its mouth,
the year and the seasons are its body,
the days and nights are its feet. 223

The Horse rests on the hard material earth;

its belly contains all space;
its back is the soaring paraclete-mind
reaching up to the summit. 224

A Riddle commuting between the East
and West — or Day and Night — and
poised for the forward leap, the Horse sublime
is also the Mount of all. 225

For Devas, speed of movement and delight;

for Gandharvas, the good life;
for Asuras, force and might abounding;
and for Man, self-transcendence. 226

Here at this end, the Asvamedha rites;

there, beyond names, forms, actions,
the Sunrise of Knowledge; and in between,
gradations of Ignorance! 227

And O Sage, I remember the day when,
during an Asvamedha,
you had the cows and gold taken aWay,
steadfast in Brahma-Knowledge. 228

Some like Asvala thought it presumptio
but had to acquiesce at last,
on a later occasion, you taught me :

‘Atman is the Light of lights.’ 229

>

For the realised person, the problem
simplifies itself : he lives
in his native Infinity, a drop
of dew on a lotus leaf.

23C

27 Janaka and Yajnavalkya

But the teeming masses of our people
cannot construe the Symbol,
nor by force of askesis rush beyond
or attain self-mastery. 231

The steady build-up of Karma Kanda,
the step-by-step unfoldment
of ritual, the swell of the chants, and
the climb of the tongues of flame! 232

The common citizenry who witness
the mysteries have the feel
of sharing it all, and their prayers too
receive answer from Above. 233

Sometimes, O Sage, when I see my people
shiver in the cold and dark,
or writhe in their hardly veiled agonies,
my inma wanes to nothing. 234

It all strikes too poignantly vivid
to deserve the name rndyw,
and to describe it as the Lord's Ilia
will be mere impertinence. 235

0 wisest of Sages ! I feel confused,

I want the people to know

1 share their private anguish and trials,

and all their resilient hopes. 236

While human effort is necessary,
it’s a poor thing in itself ;
yet some forward push, or what looks like it,
may break the present impasse. 237

Is there no way I can conscientiously
abide by Narada’s wish,
while insulating the action from all
taint* of personal desire? 238

Nor can I dismiss aS mere fantasy
the gloried Vision that stole
the stage during my meditative trance
after the Bard’s withdrawal. 239

O great Sage, that face gracious, grave and sad,
that reflected everything
somehow annulled the dualities,
ihat face Divine haunts me still.”

240

28 Sitayana

He stopped, feeling suddenly paralysed
by the inadequacy

of language; and Yajnavalkya saw all,
and gently answered the King:

“I’ve heard you with attention, O wise King,
and, indeed, the heart’s motions
may not summarily be brushed aside
as a trap or illusion.

What, after all, was Rishi Narada’s
exhortation? That you should,
viewing the current human condition,
initiate a Sacrifice.

I think that’s what you should do : the hallowed
site that has seen so many
sacrifices in the past is ready
for propitiatory rites.

Make the first of beginnings with a plough
on that stretch of the green earth,
and the rest will unfold in due process
of the Law of Becoming.”

There was nothing more to say on either
side, and Janaka took leave
of the Sage, having silently renewed
their kinship in the Spirit.

Canto 4: Sita’s Birth and Fostering

Backgrounded by the far Himalayas,
the green earth of Videha
nurtured at its heart the fair Mithila,
the jewel among cities.

After a session with his ministers
and High Priest, Satananda,

Janaka set in motion the process
to get the Yaga started.

Whc .• the preliminaries were over,
on the selected morning
an hour before the* Sun awakes, the King
hurried alone to the grounds.

Hish unci held firm the consecrated
and as he m.'^de the first push
he turned the sod to cleanse the site
for the ancient ritual.

For Janaka, K ing of the Videhas,
it was a prayerful act,
a planted king-idea germinating
and ready for fulfilment.

Poised between the infinitudes without
and within, his hands guided
the old ploughshare with an infallible
sense of time and direction.

He had not progressed far, when suddenly
a lightning-flash crossed his path ;
he stopped, and his dazed eves fell on the form
of a wondrous golden child*

Since tfie vision had sprouted as it were
from the opening furro^,
the enraptured Janaka cried ‘Sita !’
and bent down in gratitude.

Imaging Pity as well as Power,
the lone naked new-born babe
seemed a visitant from Heaven, and smiled
pn fair Earth’s bounteous bosom.

plough,
once more

30 Sitayana

This gift of Grace abounding made the King
melt like a mother, he gazed
at the child in rapture, and he held her
in his almost trembling hands. 256

That cherubic face enslaved and enthralled
the austere Vedantin-King,
and he thought he saw revealed in the smile
all the cosmic mysteries. 257

A while ago, and all had been neutral,
a barrenness was around,
and he was driven more by compulsion

of habit than thrust of joy. 258

But with this cancellation of the past,
life opened to the future,
and the heaven-glow on the Earth-born child
answered a life-time’s longings. 259

In a glint of intuition he could see
this was no conventional
nativity, but was vitally touched
with an aura unearthly. 260

The ecstatic King forgot the poughshare,
forgot the field, but holding
in his arms the immaculate Earth-born,
he hurried straight to his Queen. 261

The wise exemplary Sunayana
had for long borne in silent
resignation the fell deprivation

in her life, nor lost all hope. 262

She was now transfigured by happiness,
for Sita the just-bom child
with her concord of contours and graces
seemed a charter from Heaven. 263

With trepidation doubled with delight,
the Queen gratefully received
the vouchsafed treasure, and knew instantly
the meaning of motherhood. 264

For Mi'thila, and all her millions too,

Sita’s advent was a joy
unparalleled, and Sage Satananda
and other elders blessed her.

265

3 1 Sita *s Birth and Fostering

With Maitreyi and Katyayani came
the jhani Yajnavalkya,
and as though his prevision saw it aP,
he prayed, and blessed the Earth-born :

266

“I see no conventional destiny
for this Daughter of the Earth :
her beauty of form and soul’s radiance
signify new times ahead.

267

In past ages, the great incarnations
of Shakti fought the demons
on their own chosen ground of violence
and annihilated them.

268

Mahakali, goddess with glowing eyes,
regal Parameshvari

releasing Vishnu from sleep, helping Him
kill Madhu and Kaitabha;

269

Mf^^cl^!!kshmi, the sum of all divine
emanations, wearing her
string of bea*ds, wielding bow and arrow, mace
and lance, cudgel and discus,

270

the feroc^ as Shakti fighting, killing,

Chikshura and Chamara,

Durdhara, Durmukha, Mahahanu
amd the mighty Mahisha;

271

and Kaushiki, Mahasarasvati,
invincible Chandika,
in defence of the desperate Devas
defying and destroying

272

a whole host of malignant Asuras,
the fierce Dhumralochana,
and Chanda, Munda and RaktabTja,
and Nishumba and Shutnba.

273

DiveVs the Names and Manifestations,
the ministries •‘^anifcJid,
the battling with the adverse formations,
the crowning celebrations:

274

Maheshvari, rider on bull, bearer
of trident, moon and serpent,
boar-like Varahi with earth-moving tusk,
terror-shaped Narasimhi :

275

32 Sitayana

and in these and other variations
of form and force and function,
the same infinite creatrix spirit

has played her redemptive roles. 276

This latest of Shakti’s emanations
may play the sheer melting role
of sublime sufferance and alchemic
action and transformation.” 277

The words sank in the deeper quietude
of Janaka’s consciousness
and merged with Rishi Narada's vision
of an auspicious Future. 278

The Earth-born wondrous child, the innocence
that was pure Grace and Glory,
was the darling of all as 'Janaki',

‘Maithili’ and ‘Vaidehi.’ 279

While Sita, with an anxious fostering
from the Queen and the nurse-maids,
grew in sun and shower and the rhythm
of days, nights and the seasons: 280

Janaka resumed his interrupted
work on the Yaga-Bhoomi,
and the Sacrifice itself ran its course
and furthered global welfare. 281

A burst of efflorescence was witnessed
in Videha, and within
a year, Sunayana the Queen gave birth

to a daughter, Urmila. 282

What a perfect companion for Sita !

they could now grow together,
the sisters Janaki and Urmila,

and they teamed almost like twins. . 283

And Kusadhvaja, Janaka’s younger
brother, was blessed likewise, for
his wife presented him with two daughters,

Mandavi, Srutakirti. 284

They were flowers in the royal garden
of Janaki' ’s Mithila,
and the four princesses passed together
their childho.'>d and girlhood years.

285

33 Sita 's Birth and Fostering

Later, when the ambitious Sudhanva,

King of Sankasya, besieged
Mithila, he died fighting Janaka
in a fierce single combat.

Kusadhvaja was then anointed King
of Sankasya, and his Queen
and his twin daughters went with him, though loth
to be parted from Sita.

The miracle of movement from childhood,
through the brief but bountiful
spring-time of girlhood, was now enacted
in the two royal cities :

here in Mithila, there in Sankasya,
now all four a5 a quartet,
and soon, a duet each, in Janaka’s
and in Kusadhvaja’s realm.

In God’s gardm of growing consciousness,

Sita and the Videhan
sisters orchestrated their symphonies
of progres^'iv.^ Becoming.

They were the marvel feminine indeed,
but Sita excelled even
the shy Urmila, the wise Mandavi
and the smart Srutakirti.

Comrade and leader at once, Sita gave
her sisters, and all girlhood
in Mithila, an accession of hope,
faith, courage and holiness.

And her beauty was not of the kind sung
in old epic and romance,
but blazed as a radiance frcta the Self,
the*mystic Agni within.

Delighted as he w' s to see the bud
of their native excellence
open to the Sun petal by petal,
and day by day, year by year:

Janaka was still constantly intrigued
by Sita’s manifoldness
Ibf femineity and veiled ministry
defying comprehension.

34 Sitayana

Often he recalled the inscrutable
circumstances of her birth :
was it a human — or human-divine —
or divine intervention?

296

Not that it mattered though, for after all,
who could ever pluck the heart
of a mystery so tantalising
as that of Sita’s coming?

297

Yet Narada’s parting exhortation,
the Face in the dream-vision,

Yajnavalkya’s lead, and Sita’s advent:
all somehow chimed together.

298

But for the commoners of Mithila,
there were no ambiguities;

Sita was the adorable Earth-born,
the unique gift of the gods.

■ 299

Although no inheritors of a like
natal mystery, her three
sisters shared with her the people’s total
love and feel of joy and pride.

300

Responsive to the constant and subtle
calls of circumambient

Nature, the wealth of flora and fauna,
the sisters breathed communion.

301

The configuration of earth’s contours,
the varied inventory

of lakes, rivers and underground waters,
the numberless life-species :

302

the sustained battle of the elements,
and the profounder rhythm
and balance; the cycle of the seasons,
and the unstruck melodies :

' 303

with an agenda for education
so full yet unselfconscious,
and a free exposure to the concert
in continuous unfoldment :

304

the antennae of the s^enses ever
alert to observe, react,
discriminate, iea.>rd, assimilate
and achieve integration :

305^

35 Si la's Birth and Fostering

and so the sun and moon and stars and clouds,
the date-palm and mango trees,
the lotus ponds, the meandering brooks,
the strong champak in blossom :

the herds of deer in the gardens, the swans,
peacocks, the resourceful vines
and creepers, the ravishing singing birds —
all made the Book of Nature.

From their close involvement in the daily
drama of Nature and Man,

Sita and her sisters gained mastery
of the native arts and crafts.

Mithila was an extensive garden,
and the gorgeous Himavant
towered magnificent at a distance,
a diviije munificence !

The seasonal rhythm kept steady pace
with an endfess regiment
of colours put forth by the abundant
green and pold of Videha.

The Mithilan native art of painting,
firm in line and fantastic
in colour, flourished as Madhubani,
the honeyed extravagance!

A riot of colours — indigo-blue,
grass-green, palasha-orange,
kusum-red, milk-white, turmeric-yellow —
coalesced into the mosaic.

And legends like Pururavas winning
back Urvasi from the gods,
or Uma’s aspiration for Shi\a,
found splendid recordation.

Thus Sita and Urmila, Mandavi
and sprightly Srutakirti,
these four with some few others of their age,
essayed learning and self-growth.

And this great adventure of consciousness —
from almost the nether end
Qf Inconscience, and cantering beyond
the vital and the mental.

36 Sitayam

and reaching up to the dizzy plateaus
of the imaginative,

intuitive, or still higher zones — added
new dimensions to their lives. 316

Canto 5 : The Girlhood of Sita

And so the Mithilan sisters — Sita,

Mandavi, Srutakirit,
and the withdrawn and gentle Urmila —
had their time of fostering;

and they would sometimes, consorting with friends,
engage in banter, or tease
one another; or Janaki’s ‘earth-born’
arira would raise strange queries.

“We’re all earth-born, aren’t we?’’ Sita would ask,
“why make all .this fuss about
my being picked up from the furrowed earth
as a qude new-born baby?

Perhaps there was no mystery at all;

maybe some links arc missing;
maybe an immaculate conception
preceded my unique birth!

Possibly, there’s much more in it than this,
for since my filial feeling,
strong as it is, may not be fixed upon
a single human mother —

of course I love Mother Sunayana,

I love Mandavi’s mother
and every mother in Mithila, and
all mothers in Videha —

still it’s certain a deep affinity
with her colour and contours
and smells and splendid perspnality
dra^s me always to our Earth.

There are times when my whole being — my soul
and heart and body’s nerve-cells
and all the aggregates that comprise me —
chime with this dear Earth-Mother.

Sundry unpredictable hours find me
sensitive to the pulse-beats,
breathings, exultations, lacerations
! and frenzies of the Mother.

38 Sitayana

Millions her progeny every minute,
and infinite her concern
for their well-being, growth and maturing,
and infinite too her groans !

326

Sometimes I needs must wring my anguished heart
in impotent sympathy
for this our poor long-suffering Mother,
the exploited and disowned.

327

The very children who should humbly make
their choicest consecrations
at the tired and bruised yet beautiful
feet of the dear dear Mother,

328

how they play the truant, how they practise
the plunderer, the sadist,
how they grab, maim, use, misuse and abuse,
but never a grateful nod !

329

Since her ministry began long aeons
ago, she has been waiting,
waiting, but her numerous progeny
have been callous or cruel.

330

And so, friends, sisters, when the fit is on,
hot tears well up in my eyes,
my body trembles like an aspen leaf,
and even prayers fail me!”

331

Sileni as a rule, but now Urmila
said: “Some consanguinity

I have with the Earth’s variegated hues,
for they are her alphabet.

332

Seven are. the rainbow’s colours, and yet

Mother Prakriti’s drama
of continuous efflorescence throws up
splendorous tints a legion.

. 333

Never a dull or dead or drear moment; •
the form, content and colour
play the chameleon tantalising me,
and winning my heart as well.

334

You know? between long spells of lassitude,
my mind conjures up visions,
and I must then gather seeds, leaves, barks, vines
and manufacture my hues;

3^5

39 The Girlhood ofSita

and soon, as my freak of fancy or leap
of imagination dares,

I mix my paints and play with my brushes
till the Mother smiles once more.”

336

Jayanti, one of the company, said :

“While Sita finds in Bhooma
the Mother of the manifestation
and sustainer of all Life,

337

Urmila sees the same Earth as artist
and purveyor of colours,
the excellent goddess of the canvas
who decrees Beauty’s Temple.

338

And you Mandavi? and Srutakirti?

a jewel for your 'credo,
for during these impressionable years
you’ve -forged your vocation too.”

339

The sprightly o^itspoken Srutakirti
needed no special prompting:

“Why all this high seriousness? Bhooma
hugs us in tls ousand ways:

340

just like the grandmother at home, for whom
nothing is too burdensome,
whose fcaress is heavenly, who carries
the load of all the mothers.

341

From the most trivial to the high sublime
we have played our partnerships,
and if I tease her she smiles back, and if

I frown, she smiles even more*”

342

As if still struggling with her reticence,

Mandavi spoke succintly :

“Dear Earth is for me the Supreme Giver,
the Goddess Sakambari.

343

1 watch the slow rhythm 5f the seasons,
and varied the Mother’s gifts,
and plentiful ever, had we only
a sense of consecration.

344

Wasting nothing we want nothing; Bhooma
gifts largesse for each season :
tl^re’s food for each palette, and there’s Beauty
^beckoning to us always.”

345

40 Sitayana

“That’s a rare shower of revelation,”
said Sita excitedly;

“our homage to Kali, Lakshmi, Bhooma,
Bhramari, Sakambari!”

When, on another occasion, the talk
took a turn once more towards
the mystery of Sita’s mystic ties
with the divine Earth-Mother,

she gave answer with a disarming smile :

“Let’s not be too curious,
for few things on this fair Earth or beyond
can be contained by language.

What can we know, sisters, trapped as we are
in the ‘present’, the nexus
so feeble between the eternities —
all the past, all the future!

We live and die, and live and die again,
and the whole rhythm of life
is also the dirge of decay and death,
and the song of renewal.

Now look at the cycle of the seasons,
and year after year the six
come and go, and after the rains, new life,
and flowering, and fruitage,

Tis said that once during the Earth’s nonage -
oh millions of years ago! —
there was no woodland, no semblance of life,
till the Earth-Mother woke up.

And she dreamt dreams, and the Great God above
hearkened to her ardent cry
and decreed that the earth would be the home
of the adventure of Life.

There are legends and myths and memcJries
of our dear Mother’s saga
of trial and error and becoming,
and all the present splendour!

There’s ihi seminal myth of Mother-Earth’s
pristine daughter - the prime source
of love and life being carried away
by the nether wortd’s Titan.

41 The Girlhood of Sita

That meant drought and starvation and defeat
for the hapless hungry ones,
till the redeemer hushed the transgressor,
and flora flourished again.

In times of clairvoyant intensity —
although far between and few —

I have had the oppressive sensation
of playing the Daughter’s role!

Almost a shudder would pass through me then,
and I would feel invaded
by an elemental ocean darkness
and cast down spite of myself.

But it would not do to dwell on these things,
for they’re nightmare fantasies
and may have no relation whatever
to life’s actualities.

Still I hardly help thinking sometimes
that all this life, these buildings,
the glories of our birth and fostering,
are only the stuff of dreams!

But no, a tru" j to these speculations!

There’s the Grace of the Supreme,
and this never fails, though we may fail it;
let the Mother shield us all.”

Thus would they, the daughters of Videha,
measure their fugitive hours
in light talk or more serious probing;

and so days, weeks, months, years passed.

But for the growing aspirant Sita
and her receptive sisters,
all Videha was an academy
with its tonic ambience. •

Mithila^s high priest, Sage Satananda,
ready always to irrpart •
instruction, oftentimes engaged Sita
in useful dialectics,

and once the chase for Truth was in full swing
it was sometimes uncertain
whether the pupil or the teacher felt
more rewarded in the end.

356

357

358

359

360

361

362

363

364

365

42 Sitayana

Or the wise and learned Sage would regale
the sisters with Vedic lore
redolent of seminal myths and Truths
and profound symbol-figures,

366

or retell with meticulous detail
a saga like Savitri’s
rescue of Satyavan the Soul of Truth
from the fateful noose of Death.

•

367

There were special occasions too, sessions
of exhilarating thought,
when Yajnavalkya and other savants
of the Spirit were present;

368

and the wise Janaka would then preside,
and the dialectic would
rise to heights of dizzy preeminence,
and the higher Light would pour.

369

And Sita followed with close attention

Gargi Vachaknavi lead
many a seasoned Yogi up the slopes
of sinuous argument.

370

Once, indeed, Gargi went a step too far
and asked Sage Yajnavalkya
for the cause of all causes, base of all
bases, and was admonished:

371

“There's a ‘Thus /ar and no farther’, Gargi,
and the dialectic horse
cannot pass the last barrier — only
trip and scuttle the rider.

372

The ultimate Reality, Gargi,
the root of all, sap of all,
defies definition, analysis —
it’s what you lose yourself in !

373

Do not seek to storm the last of gate-ways
seated on your ego’s wings ;
rather melt and merge in the Ambience,
and annul all difference.”

374

Janaka himself would, from time to time,
visit the Hermitages
around, and in his company, Sita
would be ^ silent learner.

375

\

43 The Girlhood of Sita

And from Maitreyi, Gargi and others,
the eager open-minded
Maithili would assimilate the art
of wise worshipful living.

In those exclusive haunts of sanctity,
she heard too of fabulous
Rishipatnis — Atri’s Anasuya,

Agastya’s Lopamudra.

Wonderful was this spacious stretch of land,
thought Sita, with Himavant
stationed as a perspective of silence
for the wise woodland dwellers!

The integral growth of the Mithilan
sisters thus went on apace,
and Sita was the- Light among the lights
and the Grace of all graces.

The princesses had their educative
games and^ diversions as well,
for Sita oft played chess with Urmila,
Mandavi, or her sister.

In a little pace of black-and-white squares
the rival armies battled,
while ingenuity, Rules of the Game
and Chance strove for victory.

And Sita had a fascination for
the game of Snakes and Ladders,
and the entire suspense-charged exercise
seemed a vast education.

The ground plan was a complex geography
of the ethical cosmos,
ladders and spiralling hill-climbs above,
snakes and abysses below.

Sita *felt half-frightened half-edified
by the naming md r&nking
of the sins and virtues, and the sequent
punishments and promotions.

And for every rise howsoever steep
there lurked near an abysmal
fall, and these criss-crossed teasingly, and one
learnt humility and hope.

44 Sitayana

In one of the illustrated lay-outs
of the occult universe,

Sita saw spread out in picturesque terms
the dual contingencies.

All the dreaded denizens of the dark
forests were prowling about,
and the sea-monsters were no less eager
to pounce on the unwary.

The long day’s journey up the winding crags
oft led up only to jaws
gaping wide that were ready to suck in
the unwary traveller!

The total unpredictability
of the play of chance and change,
of forced ascents, and of precipitous
slips and catastrophic falls !

And again, amid the reign of bleakness,
the first obscure hint of hope,
the breath of new life, the cloud no bigger
than a hand presaging rain !

It was a marvellous education
without tears, for the lessons
seeped within, and seasoned the very cells
and blood-streams of the body.

Sometimes, for a variation, Sita
opted for another kind
of chart, symbolising the soul’s journey
through the tunnels to the Light.

The glossy chequer-board of black and white
passion, malice, ignorance
cheek by jowl with clarity, charity,
radiance — held her rapt gaze,

and she visualised a grim see-saw
between the conflicting poles :
the viperous hells of Desire below,
and the blissful far Heavens.

But Sita felt that the games that humans
played with such dexterity
quite missed the quintessential dimension —
the unseen action of Grace.

45 The Girlhood of Sita

In the ceaseless flux of phenomenal
life, where did one draw the line
between the Lord’s game and the miasma
of subjective colouring? 396

She dared to rely on her innocence
and sovereign femineity,
and she sensed the omnipotence of Grace
and felt inviolable. 397

Canto 6: What Dreams may Come

There were occasions when Sita was caught
in the quicksands realm between
the restful meadow of deep dreamless sleep
and the waking hours of Day. 398

Images of the feminine psyche —
beauty, power, glamour, love,
compassion, self-surrender, uncanny
expertise in little acts; 399

aye, cunning and dissimulation too,
and pride, passion, prejudice,
self-love, self-division, self-abasement,
all the flowers of folly — 400

these psychic motions assumed human shapes
and took part in tense dramas
of aggrandisements, betrayals, defeats,
and shattering denouements; 401

with such oddities, frights and fantasies
filling the immense spaces
of her dreams, her tender limbs would tremble
as she woke up with a start. 402

But at other times the dream-figures glowed
like the Roses of Heaven,
and ecstasy was piled on ecstasy,
and deep sleep settled on her. 403

She used to compare notes with her sisters
and other close companions,
and although the particulars varied,
the basic questions remained. 404

Why did the mind, Maithili asked herself,
get wholly out of control
the moment the body sought rest, the lids
closed, and the night took over? 405

In what was no more than two or three hours,
she seemed able to traverse
the cosmic stairways, the cyclic roadways,
and all earth, hell and heaven.

^06

47 What Dreams may Come

All was vivid, immediate and stinging,
more alive than life, more charged
with precipitancy, more wide-ranging
in its ramifications.

And some few dreams and nightmare sequences
made recurrence a habit,
and such sinisterly reiteration
shook her equanimity.

In this aggregation of memory
heaped up promiscuously,
three or four stood out boldly on their own
as if perched on a summit.

When was it she dreamt first of Prince Charming,
no more than a boy it seemed,
but regal, self-possessed, with shining eyes
and his hand clasping a bow?

Then there wps the fatalistic rebuff,
the tempting offer of fruit, —
and the sudden withdrawal, followed b>
the thrust^^ig of the wormwood.

And the fellowship of hermitresses!

Schooled in high austerity
they walked the steep path of self-mastery
and attained a divine calm.

She encountered, too, Prakriti’s puzzles:

her wayward moods and musings,
now wreathed in smiles, now red in tooth and claw,
now delight, and danger next;

the friendliness of mountains, rivers, trees,
the hooded swaying cobra;
the lure of swans in lotus-ponds, the love
of does, fawns, sparrows, peacocks !

On a wintry night, howeter, she had
the petrifying vision
of a bird of paradise on a tree
reached by the hydra-headed.

Partly frightened, partly fascinated,
the dove held the sly serpent
at bay, while its hood swayed entrancingly
till it swooped upon the bird.

48 Sitayana

As if stung by a vicious scorpion,

Sita woke up with a scream,
and ‘twas some time before she realised
she had been merely dreaming. 417

In her cushioned comfortable chamber
in great Janaka’s mansion,
even a Mithilan winter was warm,
yet she shivered in terror. 418

Although sleep eluded her for the rest
of the long lingering night,
the patience and peace of the Earth-mother

cast a cloak of protection. 419

There was no repetition of this dream,
but its indelible stamp
burnt deep into her waking consciousness

and clouded her sunniness. 420

There was a muddling of her days and nights,
the real and surreal

seemed to delight in playing hide and seek,
and Sita hungered for light. 421

With her father’s permission and blessings,

Sita chose a bright morning
and pilgrimaged to the forest dwelling
of Rishi Yajnavalkya. 422

After rendering obeisance to him
and the assembled wise ones,

Sita found her way to Maitreyi’s cell
and fell prostrate at her feet. 423

The Rishi’s spouse, transfigured with surprise
bent down and gathered Sita
in her arms, and seating her on the couch
sprayed motherly affection. 424

“What ails you my child?” she asked with concern;

“1 can see that a shadow
lies sprawled across the sun-lit path ahead,
like a fallen roadside tree. 425

It’s not wise to hug -such phantoms, lest they
reduce the heart to cinders;
tell me, my child, what causes this unease,
what forebodings assail you?” 426

49 What Dreams may Come

Thus encouraged, Sita made a clean breast
of her apprehensions, and
recalling her diverse dream-sequences
sought reassuring answers : 427

“Mother Maitreyi, how may I relate
the way my mind feels involved
in these disturbing fantasias of dreams
with my world of waking life? 428

Dreams sometimes seem more vivid, and nightmares
more compellingly awesome,
than the fair and foul of everyday life:
but true and false, which is which? 429

I dream of good and evil, and live my
daily life : what’s the nexus
between? and are- these dreams but shadows cast
by the crawl of the future?” 430

For 9 v^ile Maitreyi held Maithili
in an intent gaze, as if

reading the closed book of her mind, the writ
prospective of her future. 431

Her eyes cr aid ^ee what was hid from others,
she was snocked by what she saw,
but presently, beyonding the beyond,
she felt amply reassured. 432

With a smile she took Sita’s hands in hers,
and thus forging full rapport,

Maitreyi said: “Ah, you’re raising questions
too profound for your young years. 433

But you’re a woman apart, Vaidehi,
and you have the right to probe
this intriguing problem : the link between
the Real and Unreal. . 434

Life’s*like a dream intangible sometimes,
and dreams oft ^old us in thrall
and give us the kick of the larger life —
and there are the gradations. 435

Perhaps, then, the Real is unreal,
the unreal is Real?

Nay more : the One alone remains joining
the Real and unreal.

436

50 Sitayana

But hardly a few, the richly endowed,
reach this dizzy plenitude
of knowing by Being, of uniting
in Agni’s fusional blaze. 437

For the many, it’s as revelation
and faith, and not as reason,
that this Truth of Divine omnipresence
must be received and cherished. 438

It’s obvious, Sita, you and I sit
and talk, and there are others,
in regions distant or near, aye, millions,
millions, each of them alive! 439

And yet, surely, without a cohesive
principle that unites all
and keeps this circus going, we’d all have
gone up in smoke long ago. 440

I’m here, and you’re there, and we’re together,
and this will suffer no change
when you’ve gone back to Janaka’s palace,
and I remain where I am. 441

Don’t our eyes peer into the far distance?

Our ears hearken to music,
maybe from the spheres; our hands by their feel
clasp the material world. 442

A still more elusive power is Mind,
and its range is infinite,
from the centre to the circumference;
and there’s the Soul, above all ! 443

But Sita, between what we are and what
we are intended to be,
falls alas the shadow of ignorance,
and distortions emanate. ' 444

Just as there’s an awakening from sleep,
you shake off ignorance too
and wake up from the nightmare existence

that’s our everyday scaffold. 445

And only those elect realised souls
who have achieved, and rest in,
this total wakefulness of body, mind
and soul, are the truly wise.

446

5 1 What Dreams may Come

They live their separate lives, but only
as water-drops in a pool ;
they split apart, and they merge, and there’s no
fragmentation of the mind.

If such a Mahatma, like Vasishta,
like Agastya, or his wife
Lopamudra, the fabulous Atri,
or his spouse, Anasuya :

if such Yogins are seized with a problem,
their vision sweeps the contours
of space and time — here to eternity —
and finds the relevant key.

It’s given to them alone to see through
the veneer of difference
and to speed beyond the dualities
and dissolve in the silence.

As fr > t j iC rest, grovelling as they do
m grooves c i varied mileage
that are filled with the densest inconscience,
their surmises are faulty.

Not that the cosmos is a fake — only
our readings are often false,
for we’re prone to forge the wrong connections
and draw the sham conclusions.

I don’t think, dear Sita, you should worry
or spend restless nights and days
brooding over these sly visitations
and nurturing disquiet.”

But Sita, no doubt feeling instructed,
knew that the Tapasvini
had shirked the crucial personal problem,
and so gently pressed again :

“Sweet Mother, I can see the anxiety,
love, concern bel ind ybur words :

I’m immature, I know, I’m at the foot
of the Stair of Yoga still.

But Mother, you’re one of the elect too,
and can you not read my dreams —
the ones I cited — and tell me truly
if I have reason to fear.”

52 Sitayana

Maitreyi saw there was no evading,
no slurring, of Vaidehi’s
portentous question; and meeting her eyes
again, spoke straight to her heart : 457

“You don’t know, my child, the Person you are:

a veiled divinity shapes
infallibly this your terrestrial life :
where, then, is the need for fear? 458

All you witnessed in your dream-sequences
are doubtless down to the earth,
for since a soul immune from flaw like yours
can traflick in no falsehood, 459

yes, even the dreams you see must project
the substance of Truth alone,
and you’re being prepared unconsciously
for the still unborn future.

This is the central paradox, Sita,
the world is one and many,
and all fragmentation, contradiction
and self-division are false.

But only the few fully enlightened
know all the mediate steps,
the intricate causal flliations
and date of the journey’s end.

These visitations and intimations,

O Maithili, that infest
the dim corridors of the unconscious
play their own messenger-roles.

Life’s no series of monotonous notes,
for the magician-artiste
varies the stops and sweeps o’er the octaves
and makes entrancing music. 464

A little while, my child, and you’ll be hailed
a rare phantom of delight;
and you'll win what you ardently desire
and the world will smile on you. 465

And a little while after, you may have
to quaii' the bitter chalice,
endure what seems eternal night, and win
and lose, aud win all again.

460

461

462

463

466

53 What Dreams may Come

But Sita, stationed as I see you are
on the Ground of all Being,
although yourself unaware at present,
the Mother’s Grace will shield you.” 467

Just then her sister Katyayani came
and was in supreme rapture
seeing Sita in a trance of self-poise
seated by Maitreyi’s side. 468

“What a surprise and joy, O Maithili,”
she said with animation;

“you’ve grown in the holiness of beauty
prefacing the bride to be!” 469

And she hugged Sita with a heartiness
and benevolence of love
that dispelled at* once the lingering clouds
of anxious speculation. 470

Th’.:.. Jivl the coming of Katyayani
galvanise ^f a sudden
the atmosphere of Maitreyi’s chamber
with an infectious sunshine. 471

There were smiles all round, and queries followed
queries, and Sita was charmed,
the dull load on her mind slipped like a cloak,
aiid she was seraph-like free. 472

She responded to Katyayani’s probes
without reserve, and they smiled
understandingly, and Maitreyi felt
inly relieved and happy. 473

Having now made obeisance to the two
Rishipatnis and received
their blessings, Maithili took leave of them
and returned to the palace.

474

Canto 7; Initiation

For Sita, as for her sisters, the years
of their girlhood were indeed
a seed-time of unceasing unfoldment
and growth within and without.

With a fair balance of austerities
and freedoms, aspirations
and fulfilments, there was a fusioning
of music and gymnastic.

Besides Yajnavalkya’s, many other
Ashramas too lay scattered
in Videha’s countryside, essaying
variety in ends and means;

and Maitreyi's counselling, the image
of Gargi, the rich flavour
of the debates, all inspired Maithili
to hanker after that life.

Gargi herself had often marked Sita
sitting aloof and absorbed
with a look of wondrous comprehension
ranging from earth to heaven.

Now whenever Maithili approached her
for enlightenment, Gargi
gave her time freely, and between them grew
a mature understanding.

For Sita’s unblemished mind, heart and soul,
the scintillating Gargi
with her probing questions and intuitive
canters of comprehension,

the Vachaknavi was like one apart,
a rare mystic, but teaming
with a thinker whose mind tore through the veils
of falsehood and reached the Truth.

In some of <he private sessions she had
with the Mithilan quartet,

Gargi was struck by their sincerity
and their psychic openness.

55 Initiation

Once she took the princesses to what seemed
an exclusive Mandala
ensconced amidst the luxuriant growth
of the Videhan uplands. 484

With Janaka’s delighted approval
the sisters sojourned a while
exposing themselves to the Mandala’s

integrated way of life. 485

The inmates were rather a motley, and
hailed from the four quarters, and
engaged in various kinds of work, and

laboured towards perfection. 486

The children in the school or gymnasium,
the Karma Yogis on their
rounds, the exemjilars of askesis poised
in self-illumination:

•

the lovt-iutoxicated, their faces
aglow with adoration,
hymning ineluctable melodies
electrifying the air :

and the magniticent Grove attracting
in the evenings the entire
community for congregational
still-sitting and surrender:

the sainted Mother of the Mandala
would then appear in their midst,
a glory of golden apocalypse,
a column of effulgence.

The minutes sped on, and a few hundred
ardours and aspirations
lost their obtrusive angulanties

and became a living soul. * 491

Who was it, that marvellous catalyst
of change and tiansfoAiation,
whose smile had the power to redeem all

from their crass mortality? 492

Evening after evening, as the sittings
ran their course, Maithili felt
lifted to higher and still higher states
of puissance of consciousness. 493

487

488

489

490

56 Sitayana

Caught in the steady gaze and serene smile
of the presiding Mother,

Sita saw the clouds of falsehood recede
and felt bathed in sudden light.

For Sita, as for the other monads
that made the congregation,
the immersion and the dissolution
in the vast seagreen oneness,

and their re-emergence as purified
crystal soul-universes
became the infallible tapasya
of self-finding and self-growth.

But fallen on gravel or thorns, relapse
was easy, and the see-saw
between the opposing pulls could become
a life-time’s trial of strength.

Yet, undaunted, the several inmates
sedulously strained after
self-mastery, and looked to the Mother
to steer them through their narrows.

Sita had reverent observant eyes
and she was the observed too,
and the Mithilan sisters mixed freely
with the whole community.

What struck Maifhili with peculiar force
was the nature of the bond
that held such a diversity of men,
women, children together.

‘Twas a microcosm, in fact, of the world
entire, and comprised loners,
householders with their families, hermits,
ecstatics, hermitresses.

But everyone — child, adult, the elect —
relied on his psychic link
with the one beloved Mother of all,
like the wheel’s spokes and the hub.

All ties and labels — father, mother, son,
daughter, husbaqd, wife, comrade —
were feebile ancillaries, deriving
only from the link Divine.

57 Initiation

The inmates hardly seemed to mind the kind
of work they did, — minuscule,
menial or monotonous, — for all ranked
the same in the Mother’s eyes.

The invisible atom, equally
with the distant galaxies,
made the grand orchestrated symphony
of the Hymn of Existence.

The day came at last when Gargi arranged
for Sita to be received
by the Mother of all Radiances
in her own Sanctuary.

‘Twas a bare small retreat, and there behind
the high-backed chair she sat in
the backgrounding walls were serenely blue,
as thrnigh the sky was around.

Sita had kncwp the feel of the power
of that frail figure’s Presence
in the meditative evening sessions
of the las', se\eral days;

and now, this meeting was like the river
homing to the sea, for all
contours of difference faded away,
and a deep peace descended.

Sita fell almost in a leap before
the seat of that Effulgence,
and as she made obeisance, the Mother
gave a transfiguring smile.

Then gathering and seating the prostrate
Sita before her, she gazed
long at the trembling Maithili, as if
reading her life like a book.

It was like a trance of e^f^iloration,
for those liquid eyes of light
seemed to respond to sharp alternations
and flickered accordingly.

Wasn’t she seeing farther and deeper than
she had intended at first?

Her face was grey and liuninous by turns,
and a shudder passed through her.

58 Sitayana

Her right palm fondly touched Sita’s bent head
in a gesture of blessing,

her hands stroked the arms, her eyes were gentle,
and she spoke as one concerned :

“Sita, I’ve watched you in the still-sitting
sessions, and young as you are,

Videhan Janaka’s Light surrounds you
as a protective armour.

The Yogi who founded this Ashrama
had a clear sense of mission,
and 1 came driven by an afflatus
and found in him my Godhead.

You’ve seen, Sita, this self-regulated
community revolving,
like the earth’s diurnal round by Nature’s
laws and quiet compulsions.

‘Tis some years now since He chose to withdraw,
and I’ve seen the Ashrama
put forth wings of consciousness ready for
a flight into the future.

But Sita, I know that the agenda
for change and transformation
of this errant earth-life to the Divine
may take many, a life-time.

But seeing you in your incandescent
purity and perfection
of feminine beauty, I dare again
to dream of the Golden Age.”

Once more she gazed deep into Sita’s eyes,
saw a darkness intervene,
and there was Sun-splendour again chasing
the crowding shadows away,

“Sita, I seem to see more than I should,’,’
she said as if haltingly ;

“no mere princess you, but a parable
of sublime necessity.

O my dali ling immaculate Earth-born,

Mother Madhavi’s daughter!
a sudden bl^ /c of glory reveals all,

O my marvel Maithili!

59 Initiation

I see the deceptive scales slip and fall,
the separative cages
crumble and melt and vanish into air:
myself, myself am Sita!

524

Should you ever be seized with helplessness,
think of me, for I take charge
of all, all whom 1 may have seen even
for a mere fleeting second!

525

When danger in the future assails you,
fear not but look deep within
and seek -tearing through all barrier veils—
the invulnerable You.

526

I know you have come missioned to this earth,
and must run the whole gamut
between the termini of Light and Dark,
and ave. exceed them as well.

527

Sita, Sita, I dare not speak further,
for I see btanks and blotches
on the luminous spread of the Sun-rays,
but the Gra-'e will never fail.”

528

And with another hug and ritual
motion of benediction,
the Mother gave the initiation smile
and let Maithili withdraw.

529

Joining her sisters after her moment
of maturity in Truth,

Sita with the light of her new knowledge
fraternised without speaking.

530

A new certitude marked Sita’s movements
and formulations of speech,
and this was reflected in Urmila,

Mandavi, Srutakirti.

531

Thus came about the n^stic inductions,
and solicitous Gargi

helped them take leave of the community
with universal goodwill.

532

Canto 8 : The Dome of Holiness

On her return to Mithila, Sita
had an insightful session
with her father, and he could now see her
with a new understanding. 533

“A light is on your face, Sita,” he said,

“and I’m happy and alarmed
at once, for such uncommon gifts of Grace
come attended with perils. 534

But she whose wings of glory you have seen,
the air you’ve breathed, the vouchsafed
vision and veil of protection, these will
help you safely to come through. 535

Now Sita, I’ll ask Gargi to take you
to another Ashrama
set in the lower Himalayan range
like a pearl amid sapphires. 536

The High Priestess, the aged prophetess
of the multi-splendoured Dome,
has been the inspiration of millions,
an Aditi for us all.” 537

And the day came when Gargi and Sita —

‘twas only Sita this time —
steered towards the Himalayan foothills
and made for the Mandala. 538

Nature in her native extravagance,
the run and riot of life
and beauty, the variegated richness,
o’erpowered Sita at once. 539

It was half-hidden behind a margin
of luxurious sal trees,
and the ochre-clad guardian of the gate
gave them ready admission. 540

There opened before them divers clusters
of cottages small and big,
and rising imperious from their midst,
the great Dome of Holiness.

541

61 The Dome of Holiness

An impressive breath-taking edifice
reared upon a high platform,
a granite polyhedronic marvel
with terrace upon terrace ;

542

a series of concentric formations,
smaller yet smaller they rose
higher and higher, and all supporting
the dizzy ultimate Dome :

543

a many-tiered and orchestrated
marvel of aspiration
in heady stairways of ascent towards
the teasing, beckoning, top.

544

On a closer scrutiny of the walls
and the sustaining coloumns,

Sita was struck by the telling sequence
of exquisite bas-reliefs.

545

•

and s^e measured her present perceptions
with her earh^r insights,
and when she felt confused, there was Gargi
to read the implied message.

546

“This dream* f abric or fantasy, Sita,''

Gargi explained, “is far more
than an architectural feat : call it,
rather, a mantra in stone!

547

When you hold yourself in stillness serene,
something does happen to you,
and you feel lifted out of your present
and drawn towards the apex.

548

I’ll now lake you to Devi Manasi
the throned Priestess of the place,
and she may raise you, if she likes, to high
plateaus of puissance and light."

549

Led by Gargi, the subdued Maithili
found the way to ihe caVem
in the interior space of the Dome,
and they offered obeisance.

550

Raising her eyes as she rose, Sita saw
a Power a Radiance,
something ageless, sexless, a beyonding
of human suppositions.

551

62 Sitayana

Who was it, the all-sufficing Presence,
golden the glow on the face,
a smile that seemed to chase all fear away,
and eyes that spoke compassion? 552

Sita felt the throb of a tremendous
exhilaration and joy,

and ‘twas as though she was held in a trance
of total identity. 553

“My child,” said Mother Manasi softly,
having gazed long at Sita
as if reading all past, present, future
in an integrated sweep; 554

“my dear child, Sita, O unique Earth-bom
of sanctified Mithila;
and Gargi Vachaknavi, my daughter:

I give you both my blessings. 555

Sita, your cherubic innocent eyes
seem yet to speak the language
of scripture, fusing thought-spans and sound-waves

like a melody unstruck. 556

Gargi has done wisely to bring you here,
for I shall now induct you
into the mystique and allegory

of this Dome of Holiness.” 557

And she rose by an effort of sheer will
taking Sita by the hand,
and led with slow measured steps, with Gargi
keeping close as she followed. 558

“Sita”, said the Priestess as they walked on,

“these labyrinthine pathways,
like the body’s blood-streams, make a complex
self-sustaining unity. 559

Glory be to the Architect who reared
this fantasy in granite,
for it is a call to aspiration

and sure realisation.” 560

By now they had reached, after a winding
bout c" dovetailed passages,
a sudden space of calm intensity
that opened up all around.

561

63 The Dome of Holiness

“Ah here we are,” said Mother Manasi,

“this might be the very hub
of the universe of forms and functions,
the trembling heart of the whole.

Now Sita, close your eyes for a minute
in a meditative stance,
and still poised in silence, open your eyes
to the soul’s deeper seeing.”

A moment extracted from the ceaseless
movement of Time eternal,
and in that elected moment of time,
yes, time itself ceased to be.

Sita was weighted with no wants, worries,
specific expectations;
there were no intruding distractions, and
she was ready to receive.

Everything was transparent everywhere:

she gazed above and below,
she looked around in wonder and surmise,
she was in and out at once.

The same se i ifd diminishing circles,
the same acred terraces,
the same poly-faceted ensembles
confronted her everywhere.

Sita stole a quick glance at the Priestess
who seemed bathed in an aura
unearthly, and her answering smile gave
the needed approbation.

Maithili’s eyes of sharpened consciousness
fanned out once more, and she saw
in a single burst of revelation

the wordless stupendous Truth.

•

In the depths she saw the heights, in the dark
the blinding Light, in'the Dome
the stair of terraces, and everything
seemed mirrored in everything.

Lit by a power of animation
out of the ordinary,

Sita’s vision seemed suddenly gifted
with an occult dimension.

64 Sitayana

she saw with a plenary perception
the merging of the big and small,
the dissolution of categories
and the crystalline oneness.

The within and without universes
became unseverable,

and she saw the Tree in the seed, the Sun
in the nethermost darkness.

And the more she gazed, her consciousness grew
new wings of discovery,
and Manasi, Gargi, and herself too —
all in one and one in all.

Now suddenly, within a split-second,
the great vision ambrosial
withdrew, and dazed by the disappearance
Sita turned to the Mother.

Feeling fulfilled and happy, Manasi
held the trembling Sita close,
and looking her straight while wiping the tears,
she spoke as a mother would :

“Sita, I see you feel overpowered
having now stolen a glimpse
into a tunnel in the depths of God
where the Dark is Light indeed.

I thought it proper you should be exposed
to this kaleidoscopic

theatre of forms where all the roles change
and all identities fuse.

It’s like the reckless versatility
of dreams, so much happening
in so little time, and all coalescing,
dissolving, disappearing.

Out of the self-same primordial essence,
like jewellery out of gold,
the multitudinous phenomena
renew and spin out themselves.

But Sita, there’s also the key or clue
to the constant theatre
and its play of varieties, — and seize it,
and nothing can assail you !

65 The Dome of Holiness

You have seen the phantasmagoria
of forms, functions, processes,
the mysteries of interdependence

and deep inter-involvement. 582

One moment, and the spendthrift play is on ;
and another, the actors

are but foam-stuff, dream-struff, leaving nothing
but ghost memories behind.

You’ve seen, Sita, the varied terraces,
the rising and the falling,
the mystical mathematics of Heaven
that keep them all together.

But remember, there’s the infallible
soul-key, the clue to the rest ;
and the soul is itself, the unique You
and ^he Infinite as well.

It r^.cv bv% with a destiny like yours,
you may h?ve to face trials
far beyond the range of the average:
that’s why this education.

In this un:. i^niing movement of Time —
in this cosmic living space
remember, the centre is everywhere,

the circumference nowhere. 587

In times of terrific perplexity,
fear not but dive deep within,
look for the hub, the prime source of it all,

and you’ll be sovereignly free.” 538

Then Devi Manasi laid her right palm
on Sita’s head, and pronounced
benedictions suitable to that time

of germinating future. 589

Sita rose, both exhausted and happy,
and Gargi, hav ng exchanged
wordless thoughts with the High Priestess, went hack
with Maithili to their cell. 590

Sita’s subjective space experienced
a permanent charge of Light,
and she knew that a qualitative change
had come about in her life.

583

584

585

586

591

66 Sitayana

For a few more days, Sita and Gargi
tarried in the Ahsrama
fraternising and imbibing the peace —
then went back to Mithila. 592

Canto 9 ; Destiny Unfolding

Back in the spacious halls of the palace
and the gardens and arbours,

Sita mingled with her sisters once more
and shared their games and pastimes.

She was dear smiling Maithili again,
ready for the quirks of chance
and change, for serious discourse, and for
agile feats of mind or limb.

Sita and her playmates would sometimes stray,
in their search for novelty,
into the remoter segments and nooks
of the sprawling palace grounds.

On one occasiop, the girls were chasing
a fugitive ball bandied
about with a resourceful abandon
till it seemed to disappear.

Sleuthing ati-ji it, they saw it lying
snug under an eight-wheeled box
of colossal proportions at the far
end of a long gallery.

Drawing near in her native innocence,

Sita now took a close look,
raised the box a little with her left hand,
while the right rescued the ball.

Happening to come just then, Janaka
was o’ertaken by surprise
and cast on his beloved child a glance
of gl«ried recognition.

While the girls presently rftade themselves scarce,
Janaka became wistful,
recalled the mystery of Sita’s birth,
and marvelled at her veiled might.

Returning to his room of seclusion
he relapsed into a trance
and viewed the prospective developments
in a comprehensive sweep.

593

594

595

596

597

598

599

600

601

68 Sitayana

He recalled how, after a commotion
in the heavens, great Shiva
had let his enormous Bow lie in trust
in King Devarata's care.

Janaka had inherited the Bow
from his hoary ancestor,
for it had lain there for generations
in Mithila's eight-wheeled box.

When, in the flush of adolescent dawn,

Sita was the cynosure
of all eyes and filled the lords of the land
with a longing for her hand,

her father, the King, was vastly worried,
for she was not like others,
she was the unique Earth-born, and her Lord
should worthily team with her.

Having now stolen a glimpse of her strength -
prodigious if unconscious —

Janaka resolved her bride-price would be
the stringing of the great Bow

In the coming months some ambitious few
made a dash to Mithila,
but none of them, for all their known prowess,
could even lift Shiva’s Bow.

Th^' King of the Videhas grew anxious
again, for eUgible

ardent suitors ..eemed to be scared away
by the formidable Bow.

Besides, every passing day saw Sita
radiant with a new glow,
and her beauty and maiden innocence
sparked a holiness as well.

Some few inferred a screened divinity, .

an elemental Shakti,
a cleansing power of incandescence,
and felt awed, and retreated.

For her fiends, and for the common people,
however, Sita was still
the dear ani^ familiar Earth-born maiden,
the incomparable one.

69 Destiny Unfolding

She mingled in the citizen’s pastimes,
she exchanged subtle questions
with the savants of the Spirit, and oft
felt lost in the Infinite.

Sometimes gazing at the star-splendoured sky
Sita went into a trance,
and ‘twas as though her mystic extension
stretched out for the universe.

All Time past melted into Time future,
and the notional present
embraced the asymptotic termini;
and Sita was all the worlds!

And yet she could of a sudden relax,
contain her immensities,
and show to everyday earth the image
of girlish play and laughter.

Like the Bow of Shiva that at once lured
by its beauty of repose

in the eight-wheeled box, and scared all by its
terror-striking heaviness,

Maithili In • Earth-born too, Janaka’s
darling daughter, attracted
suiters, and also filled them with the awe
of the unattainable

A double blessing was a double test,
and pondering things deeply
Janaka resolved he would initiate
a pertinent Sacrifice.

Sage Satananda, Mithila’s High Priest,
made the traditional moves,

•and the word travelled fa:>l, and anchorites
started assembling in force.

Mithila was agog with excitement,
and all the population
felt involved in the ancient ritual,
and expectations ran high.

Sita felt drawn to the selected site,
a new beauty and ardour
touched her limbs, and her commonest gestures
seemed charged witli a divine glow.

70 Sitayana

With Urmila, Mandavi and others,

Sita followed the progress
of the Sacrifice with its swelling chants
and oblations in the fire.

All roads seemed to converge on Mithila,
and Sita was fed by friends
with news of all the latest arrivals,
and of fresh developments.

In controlled excitement the young Princess
heard of the coming of Kings,

Rishis with a legendary renown,
and warriors of repute.

Someone muttered the word ‘Visvamitra'
in hushed accents, and Sita
pricked her ears and soon after, Mandavi
brought the most astoxmding news.

She had had it second-hand, yet there was
the ring of resounding truth :
the news concerned the almost mythical
Ahalya, Gautama’s spouse.

Sita’s subtler consciousness registered
a hint of recognition :

hadn’t the hapless Ahalya been condemned
to a sterile existence?

Since her passage from the safe hither shore
of bright innocence, across
the foam-crests of adolescence, towards
the coasts of Experience,

Sita had sometimes debated within
on the vagaries of gods,
demons and men, and found herself perplexed
by the ways of Providence.

If she was to believe Mandavi’s news —
Ahalya’s resurrection —
it was an apocalyptic moment
scissored out of linear Time.

Gods and demons seemed to persist in their
respective perversities
or egoisms — *10 repentance, no change,
no transformation for them!

71 Destiny Unfolding

Sita had heard that Indra, 'god of gods’
as he was brazenly known,
author of many an aberration,
had shown no remorse at all.

632

‘Twas left to Ahalya alone, first-bom
of the Feminine, frail, flawed,
human, and more sinned against than sinning,
to pay for her transgression !

633

And Sita wondered whether Ahalya,
now transfigured in rebirth,
wasn’t the chaster and holier paragon
excelling the gods themselves?

634

Now came running to Sita her sisters

Urmila, Srutakirti;

and they seemed hardly able to contain
their thrilled wonderment and joy.

635

They had hear4 that, with the Rishi, had come
a youthful warrior Prince
and his intent younger brother matching
the elder to perfection.

636

These were the famed Rama and Lakshmana,
the inseparable ones

and darling sons of Ayodhya’s monarch,
the righteous Dasaratha.

637

Guided by Visvamitra, Rama had
entered the deserted hut,
and now there rose before him all at once
a woman unparalleled.

638

This was Ahalya, bright like the full Moon
but obscured by fog and cloud,
or* like the Sun reflected in a lake,
or a F’lame filmed by the smoke.

639

She had eked out her miserable life
unseen by the madding world;
penance was the hapless Ahalya’s name,
a legend in her own life !

640

Rama’s coming had marked the happy end
of her existential death,
and as the young Princes made obeisance
she offered welcome to all.

641

72 Sitayana

Out of the obscurity of the past
and the years of penitence,
she was now risen as a Radiance
for all the ages to come.

Her sainted husband, Rishi Gautama,
returning as foreordained,
there was witnessed the reaffirmation
of the ancient verities.

And with benedictions from Gautama
and the fire-proof Ahalya,
the Princes along with Visvamitra
were set towards Mithila.

This news floated like a breath of fresh air
and keyed up expectancy,
but Sita retreated to her inner
stillness, and waited on Grace.

And, sure enough, there was a holy hush
in the Yaga pavilion;
royalty and sanctity were alert,
and Time itself seemed to pause.

Commanding from their vantage seats a view
of the consecrated ground,

Sita and her sisters, all attention,
watched the developing scene.

While the orchestrated diapason
of the hoary Vedic chants
charged the air with a new intensity,
the oblations continued.

There was now a flutter near Janaka,
he suddenly rose, and walked
with Sage Satananda to the arched gate
of the sacrificial grounds.

Janaka received the Brahma Rishi
with all due ceremony,
and begged him to join the other sages
in the spacious pavilion.

The Yag'. would conclude in ten days’ time,
and the King begged Kausika
Visvamitra stay on till the end
and see the proceedings through.

73 Destiny Unfolding

Besides, the King made proper inquiries
about the gallant Princes,
and the great Rishi gave a recital
of his wards’ antecedents,

652

their marvellous feats of arms in defence
of his own Siddhashrama,
and of their compelling desire to see
the famous Bow of Shiva.

653

Suddenly awakened to a deeper
dream of hope in the buried
unconscious, Satananda turned his eyes
from the youths to Kausika,

654

and asked with a tremor of anxiety
whether Rama had in fact
visited Ahalya’s sick Ashrama
and redeemed her from the past.

655

•

And Vi' .V '•mitra pointedly remarked
that what ne«ded to be done
was done indeed, and reunited were

Ahalya and Gautama.

656

Satananda, p . albO Janaka,
heaved a sigh of gratitude,
and ‘twas like the auspicious beginning
of a 'series of new times.

657

And now they all made their way to the vast
sacrificial pavilion;

Janaka led the hallowed Kausika,
and every one was alert.

658

That surely was the great Visvamitra,
and with him were the Princes,
byoyant, boyish and majestic at once,
and more godlike than human.

659

Janaka and Satananda guided
the guests extraordinary^,
and helped the three to appropriate seats
near the pavilion centre.

660

The assembled multitude craned their necks
or strained their eyes in the hope
they could locate the august Eminence
and snap the beautiful pair.

661

74 Sitayana

The same youthful, almost boyish, archer
with the lure of sapphire blue
who had haunted her lately in her dreams,
now paired with his fair brother! 662

This was beyond all anticipation,
surmise or coincidence;
and Maithili recalled Maitreyi’s words,
and sensed coming fulfilment. 663

For Sita, ‘twas thus an instantaneous
canter of recognition:
wasn’t Visvamitra the Grace paraclete,
and Rama the ordained goal? 664

Perhaps, she mused, Rama’s wandering eyes,
as they swept the space across,
sought her alone, and at last happily
rested in deep contentment !

It was a moment prefigured, unique,
when two infinities met
and felt in their reservoir of Spirit
their two-in-one destiny.

Rama carried with him still the aura
of Ahalya’s askesis,
for her penitence had transfigured her
as Beauty of Holiness.

But Sita’s was Beauty of innocence,
freshness, self-sufficiency,
the perfect fusion of all perfections,
the exemplum feminine.

Urmila too, and the cousin sisters,
as they followed Sita’s gaze,
felt a nameless ineffable flutter,
and were charged with excitement.

After a while, when the ritual thrust
of the sacrificial climb

had attained the prescribed pause for the day
and the oblations ended, 670

the young Princes, Rama and Lakshmana,
and ail the congregation
were treated by the wise Satananda
to Kausika’s history.

665

666

667

668

669

671

75 Destiny Unfolding,

It was to be verily a discourse
on the slow evolution
of the sovereignty of true Brahmatej,
and the crowning victory.

Addressing Rama with an openness
of wonder and gratitude,

Satananda traced the vicissitudes
of the spiralling ascent.

Coming in Kusa’s royal line of Kings,
Visvamitra was to clash
with Vasishta the preeminent Sage
in his Ashrama domain.

The King asked for Vasishta’s Sabala,
the divine cow of plenty,
and denied his wish, resorted to force,
and was totally rebuffed.

In this* elemental issue between
/ishatraiej ^and Brahmatej —
ihe King’s brute-force and the Rishi’s soul-force
the former knuckled under.

In utter chagrin, Visvamitra turned
to severe austerities,

now in the South, then in the West, anon
inrthe North, last in the East.

Again and again, while the upward thrust
of his intense askesis
won acclaim progressively as Rishi,

King-Rishi and Great-Rishi,

still from time to time, his native goodness,
spurts of generosity,
pity or anger, his human instincts
• and impulses, would undo

the arduous achievements of tapas,
and all had to be begun
once more, with an increased intensity
compelling admiration.

First he risked all the fruits of his tapas
by espousing Trisanku’s
mad desire for bodily ascension
to the region of the gods.

76 Sitayana

Rejected by Indra, Trisanku fell,
but being held in mid-sky,
the Rishi willed an intermediate
world as surrogate heaven.

From the South, Visvamitra now shifted
to Pushkara in the West,
and during his rigorous askesis
came another call for help.

Rejected by father and mother both,
Sunahshepa, Richika’s
middle son, appealed to Visvamitra
who found the means to save him.

Later, while still engaged in askesis,
Visvamitra chanced to see
the nymph Menaka bathe in the river —
like lightning among the clouds!

Stricken with instant love, Visvamitra
asked Menaka to abide
with him, and a run of ten years flew past
like a single day and night.

Awakening from his infatuation,
he spoke kindly and bade her
adieu, and went to the North to resume
his ardent austerities.

His hard-won spiritual eminence
provoked Indra’s jealousy,
and he asked the nymph, Rumbha, to distract
Kausika from his tapas.

But the Rishi saw through the strategem,
and in anger cursed Rumbha
to a petrified non-life for some years,
and himself moved to the East.

There at long last, in the high plenitude
of his silent askesis,

the gods — and Vasishta himself — hailed him
Brahma-Rishi for all time.

Janaka and the gathered ascetics,

Rama and Lakshmana, and
Sita and her sisters, all intently
heard the epic narrative.

77 Destiny Unfolding

and matchless was their awed admiration
for the great King self-transformed
into the exemplar of anchorites,

the incarnate of penance. 692

Now Janaka marvelled at Kausika's
chequered yet inspiring life,
and invited the young Princes to view

at dawn the Bow of Shiva. 693

Canto 10; The Bride-Price of Valour

Returning to the palace interior,

Sita and her companions
talked far, far into the night, recalling
events, and speculating.

One or another had information
ancillary to the theme
of the young Princes being invited
to have a look at the Bow.

Would the elder of the heroic youths,

Rama the strong-limbed and fair,
make bold — not content with the mere seeing —
to string the great Bow as well?

And suppose Rama succeeded indeed,
what then? what then? — and their looks
converged to where Sita sat silently
with an inscrutable look.

It was no matter to make light about,
and everyone was concerned :
some wondered, though, whether the boyish Prince
could lift so heavy a Bow.

Others more knowledgeable — for they had
gathered the most amazing
news — held the firm opinion that Rama
would certainly make the grade.

One of the group was an inveterate
news-gatherer, and somehow
knew everybody, and knew everything;
she now shook her head sagely;

"Ah you don’t know!” she said intriguingly;

‘‘be not misled by seeming;

Rarna isn't the sweet innocent-at-arms
you’ve all taken him to be.

1 was told by my father that Rama
and his brother, Lakshmana,
have learnt from Visvamitra the Adept
all the arts and science of war.

79 The Bride- Price of Valour

It’s even bruited abroad that Rama
with a single deadly dart
ended the fearsome life of Tataka
the terror of Dandaka.

Bom a Yakshi but a demoness grown,

Tataka had roamed the woods,
harassed the Rishis and desecrated
their sanctified premises.

With her mastery of witchcraft, her flair
for changing her shape at will,

Tataka had spread confusion all round —
that chapter is now over.

The Princes had then gone with the Rishi
to his own Siddhashrama,
a spot consecrated in times of yore
by V’^hnu and Vamana.

Received by tile Ashram a anchorites
with love and ceremony,

Rama begged the great Rishi to enter
on his sac' tficial vows.

Twas a Yaga spread o’er six days and nights,
and the intent Kausika
fed the fire with oblations manifold,
and the altar was ablaze.

While all went well, on the sixth and last day,
Mancha — Tataka's son —
and Subahu, vengeful evil-doers,
tried to thwart the Sacrifice.

Rama went into action instantly,

•and while casting Maricha
into tl^jc sea, quite destroyed Subahu

and the other night-rovers.

•

And so was the Sacrifice concluded.

and feeling fulfilled at last,
the Rishi left Siddhashrama for good,
and was homing to the North.

Some insrmtable divinity shapes
our ends, and we don't see all :

Ahalya's resurrection on the way,
the timely arrival here,

80 Sitayana

the promised exposure of Shiva's Bow,
ail somehow team together.

For myself, my friends, I do look forward
to a brighter tomorrow.”

The speaker had put so much assurance
into her brief reportage

that no questions were asked, no doubts were raised,
and the company dispersed.

Later that night, as she lay on her bed,

Sita had the odd feeling
she was embarking on an unknown sea
of infinite surmises.

The image of the Prince of Ayodhya,
while it was indelibly
imprinted on her heart, caused no flutter
but just filled the whole canvas.

How was it she had no sense of surprise,
registered no reaction
to the Face, but merely felt the deep joy
of waking up to the Light!

It was as though she was a drop of milk
grown aware of the milky
ocean of immeasurable expanse
and total beatitude.

She was content to accept, and be lost,
in the sheer infinitudes

of Space and Time; and deep sleep then claimed her,
and blanketed her in bliss.

Soon the great day dawned, and on their coming
to Janaka's palace grounds,

Visvamitra suggested that the Bow
might be shown to the Princes.

Janaka recalled the Bow’s history,
the manner of Sita’s birth
and the decision to make its stringing
the bride-price of the Princess.

Then he ordered that the marvellous Bow
be brought to the pavilion,
and offered Sita’s hand to Prince Rama
should he string the Bow indeed.

8 ! The Bride-Price of Valour

The formidable Bow was now conveyed
in its eight-wheeled container,
and on the King suggesting, the Rishi
assenting, Rama drew near.

A silence vast and profound, and a tense
and taut uncertainty, reigned
in the spacious grounds, and the priests, princes
and princesses held their breaths.

With a light-glancing movement, Rama raised
the lid, and sighting the Bow,
he seized and lifted it as if it were
little more than a feather.

Ten thousand pairs of eyes were rivetted
on him when he bent the Bow
and tried to string it — but the massive arc
cracked and broke in the middle.

And the noise was like deafening thunder,
a ijioui’.tain breaking apart,
and the earth deemed to tremble for the nonce,
and wonderment filled the air.

When the congregation had recovered
from the nang of Rama’s feat
and tremors of the joy of fulfilment
were beginning to be heard ;

when in the crowded women’s enclosure
the faces were wreathed in smiles
and speechless intimations of delight
were being silently shared;

Janaka declared that Rama had won
with the bride-price of valour
the hand of Sita the unique Earth-born
• and daughter of Mithila

Mid t burst of universal acclaim
and full-throated rejojpings,

Rama returned to Visvamitra's side
and seemed poised for the future.

Janaka now sent word to Ayodhya
apprising Dasaratha
and inviting the King to Mithila
to solemnise the wedding.

82 Sitayana

After three days and nights, the couriers
reached Ayodhya, and seeking
an audience with King Dasaratha,
gave him Janaka's message: 733

“With Kausika's blessing, Mithila’s King
sends word that his prized daughter,

Sita, has been won by Rama, your son,
with the meed of his valour. 734

I had proclaimed that stringing the great Bow
Mithila had long cherished
was Sita’s unique bride-price, and many
had come, and failed, and gone back. 735

But Rama broke the Bow while stringing it,
and thus won resoundingly.

Come, O King, to Mithila with your train,
and let the wedding take place.” 736

Dasaratha shared his joy with the Queens,

Kausalya, Sumitra and
Kaikeyi; his preceptors, Vasishta,

Vamadeva, Kasyapa; 737

and his ministers, friends and advisers;

and they journeyed for four days
and were received by Janaka with due
honour and ceremony. 738

There were fraternal greetings on all sides,
an atmosphere of joyance
and it was hoped the wedding would take place
when the Sacrifice ended. 739

Next morning, when all concerned - Kings, Sages
and the rest — had assembled,
the god-like Vasishta spoke of the race

of the line of Ikshvakus: 740

of King Kukshi and his son Vikukshi,
and in the same royal line
Bana, Anaranya, Dundumara,

Trisanku and Mandhata; 741

of Susandhi, Bharata, Dileepa,

Baglrt tha, Kakutstha —
a line celebrated, including names
like Ambarisha, Aja,

742

83 The Bride- Price of Valour

and Dasaratha himself, and his four
valiant and righteous sons ;

Rama, and Lakshmana, and Bharata,
and Satrughna the youngest.

743

Janaka responded by detailing
the family history
of the Videhas; succeeding Nimi,

Mithi the first Janaka;

744

then a succession of Kings, including

Devarata who received

Shiva’s Bow as a trust ; and the latest
of the Janakas, himself.

745

He added that, besides Sita, he had
another child, Urmila;
and his younger brother had two daughters,

Mandavi, Srutakirti.

746

And With joy abounding. King Janaka
offered his darling daughter,

Sita, as Ram*a's bride, and her sister,

Urmila, as Lakshmana’s.

lAl

Seizing thp moment as ripe, Kausika
had a word with Vasishta,
and made a suggestion to Janaka
as»aIso Dasaratha:

748

“Great and noble are your Houses, 0 Kings
of Ayodhya, Mithila;
and these auspicious alliances mean
enhancement of their glories.

749

1 suggest a further doubling of strengths :

let Kusadhvaja’s daughters,

Mandavi and Srutakirti many
• Bharata and Satrughna.”

750

The ’words came like nectar to Janaka,
and ‘twas agreed that all four
marriages woulo take place on the same day
of Utlara-phalguni.

751

Canto 1 1 ; Site’s Marriage

The auspicious day dawned o’er Mithila,
the whole city was aroused,
and princes, priests and commoners alike
were assembled together.

Dasaratha with his sons, Janaka
with the Princesses, all met
at the Sacrificial altar, the tongues
of flame ofiering welcome.

While Vasishta with Visvamitra’s and
Satananda’s assistance
attended to the sacramental side
and offered the oblations,

Janaka led his holy resplendent
daughter to where Rama stood
near the altar, and said these moving words ;

“This is Sita, my daughter;

she’s the unique bride whose exemplary
worth, beauty and blessedness
match your own, and she’ll share the great burden
of your royal destiny.

Take her by the hand, she’ll be a partner
in your path of righteousness;
loving and devoted, she’ll follow you
like a shadow: God bless you!’’

And in the presence of the Sacred Fire,

Sunayana told Sita
that, for a wife, adhesion to her Lord
was the sum of all duties.

As the wedding was solemnised with chants
and sacramental water,

Rama and Sita were the eternal
Lord and his eternal Spouse.

And the consortium of the Sages
and Rlihis and elders blessed
the couple, and the kettledrums sounded,
and many shed tears of joy.

8 5 Sita 's Marriage

Janaka called Lakshmana next, and when
he neared the altar, asked him
to take Urmila by the hand, and tread
always the path of Dharma.

Now it was Bharata's turn, and he too
walked to the altar and took
Mandavi by the hand; last, Satrughna
and the fair Srutakirti.

All four pairs thus joined in holy wedlock
walked round the respective fires,
once, and a second time, and a third time,
and soft music filled the air.

Flowers and felicitations, flowers
and benedictions, flowers
and jubliant singing, dancing, laughing:
and so the rites concluded.

Janaka’? great Sacrifice, attended
by Risliis so many, drawn
from the four*quarters; and the addition
of the four-fold marriage rites:

the two auspicious events coalescing
and commingling and fusing,
there was fulness doubled with fulfilment,
the*feel of felicity.

The Princesses and their royal spouses
bedecked in glowing raiment,
the women’s eyes sparkling, their pretty feet
moving with a dancer’s ease :

the bridegrooms, boyish and kingly at once,
walking with the poise of strength,
glancing in expectancy at the brides
• looking and acting their part :

the qflartet of married couples that joined
the two famed royal fjouses
of Ayodhya and Mithila, were launched
on their holy wedded lives

with a rare shower of Grace from Above
and the ardent good wishes
of the R ishis, elders and relations
following them all along . . .

86 Sitayana

And the wedding, what did it really mean?

The sacrament of marriage,
for all its formal specifications,
had its true sanction elsewhere.

Always it was Purusha eternal
and Prakriti primordial
who descended into clay to subsist
in complementary forms!

Left alone at last, heroic Rama
and virgin Sita, playing
their terrestrial human roles, still found
no need to break into speech.

They weren’t strangers, they had known each other,
— when? how? in what clime? how long? —
they hadn’t ever separated to need
a base of communion now!

Nevertheless out of ocean silence
some ripples of speech surfaced,
and the two played their significant parts
in the sanctioned human way.

“By selecting you, Sita, as my life's
partner,” said Rama softly,

“my father has blessed me with happiness
beyond any measurement.”

Sita was quick to* intervene : "I thought
your breaking the mighty Bow
won me for you. Had you failed to lift it,
like all those others, what then?’’

Rama smiled as he answered: '‘O the Bow!

For me it was boyish sport,
though I also knew of the codicil :
but my father clinched the choice.

Now that you’re mine, Sita, you’ll occupy
the central space in my heart.

We have long months and years ahead of us,
and we will grow together.”

“But R^ma, for me you’ll be my whole world,
and will fill my heart entire.

The future is always ambiguous,
yet my true love will prevail.”

87 Sita's Marriage

Rama said: ‘‘Like my father, my mother

Kausalya has blessed us too.”

“So has the Queen, my mother,” said Sita,
and then archly continued:

781

“Do you know that, having seen you enter
the Hall, and as in a flash
read the signature of my souPs secret,

I had made a quick resolve :

782

that should you by some mischance fail to string
the resistant Shiva’s Bow,
or some other archer achieve the feat
and then stake his claim to me :

783

rather than face a life-time’s inferno
denied the choice of my heart —
or the worse hell of a misalliance! —

I would terminate my life!”

784

Although mature for his years and possessed
of udul. understanding,

Rama was alnfost thrown off his balance
by this confession, and said :

785

“What’s this mighty force or faith or frenzy,
this mystery that defies
prudence and reason and calculation
but swears by its certainty?

786

Who would have thought, Sita, that one like you
who had lived a sheltered life,
seemingly all sweetness and tenderness,
could contemplate such a step?

787

But a fugitive moment, yet I too
must have caught your face at once,
for mid all the excitement that followed
.it was enshrined in my heart.

788

Late a« night, in the lucid hinterland
of the silent sea of thought,
the Face and the Presence pursued me still,
and 1 hardly knew my mind.

789

My novel feelings lacked definition,
they had neither form nor name,
but they released an exhilaration
in the interior mindscape.

790

88 Sitayana

And suppose you were married already !

But no, that wasn't possible,
for I knew my heart’s throb wouldn’t be way- ward
and seek the forbidden fruit. 791

And so doubt wrestled with faith in the fog
of the intermediate world
of fantasy and fear, till I was lost
in dreamless beatitude. 792

Life has the look of a series of lamps,
each flickering by itself ;
yet the sequence has been ordained elsewhere

towards a still unknown goal. 793

When Rishi Visvamitra demanded
of my father that I should
follow him to Dandaka and keep guard
over his Siddhashrama, 794

neither Lakshmana nor I could have thought
of demoness Tataka,
of Ahalya’s resurrection, or yet

of these quadruple weddings. 795

Perhaps the all-wise Visvamitra had
the requisite foreknowledge,
but even he had to wait on events
in poised anticipation.” 796

“It makes me humble,” said Sita softly,

“that such great felicity
can with so much ease be vouchsafed to us,
unworthy as we may be !” 797

Lakshmana, when he found himself alone
with reticent Urmila,

struggled for words, for his happiness had

long been centered in Rama. 798

“You are precious to me,” he said fumbling,

“as Sita’s younger sister :

Rama’s the God of my religious faith,
and Sita the true goddess. 799

But Urmila, you will be dear to me
because, as co-worshippers
of Rama and Sita', we’ll inherit
the joy c" divine service.

800

89 Sita's Marriage

And Urmila, you’ll find in my mother,

Sumitra, a woman kind,
and a Mahatma besides, and you can
trust her unquestioningly.”

“I’m content, Lakshmana,’’ said Urmila ;

“those that stand and wait and serve,
they find happiness too ; let’s, then, find love
in true worshipful service.’’

Bharata and Mandavi were rather
mature and matter-of-fact,
and talked first of the ramifications
of the two Royal Houses.

While Bharata spoke of Ayodhya’s charms
and Kekaya’s attractions,
and of his strong-willed mother Kaikeyi
and his uncle Yudhajit,

Mandavi wa^ half lyrical about
her father, Kusadhvaja,
and the opulence of her Sankasya
fed by the Ik^Kumati.

“I don’t know, Mandavi,’’ Bharata said,

“what twists are ahead of us,
and the more your face and features please me,
the more the future awes me.

My deeper involvement is with Rama,
for he’s more than my brother;

I may not walk near him like his shadow,
as peerless Lakshmana does —

but Rama, I’m not apart from Rama;

^ and the inseparable
Satrughna is my other self; and now
yoif 11 be the soul of my soul,

and perhaps, wher things go awry, and fair
turns foul, and Time's out of joint,
you’ll sustain me — silently and unseen —
and that’ll be the higher bliss.’’

Mandavi hardly knew what to make out
of these wild and winged words ;

“Bharata, I sense the love and anguish,
but not their precise meaning.

90 Sitayana

I can see we’re on the twilight threshold
of times unpredictable:
and should you ever make calls on my love
and faith, I swear compliance!”

“We’re the youngest couple, Srutakirti,”
said Sumitra’s younger son;

“and this can mean freedom from all worry,
or a baggage of problems.

Look, my three brothers and your three sisters
may have to face challenges,
trials, tribulations — I can’t say what —
yet they will safely come through.

But somewhere behind, ensconced in safety,
ours could be the taxing roles,
nothing sensational, spectacular,
yet vital and important.

Thus you and I, Srutakirti, loving
and being loved, not scorning
obscurity or dreary routine,
will tulfil our destinies.”

“O Satrughna! terror of enemies!”

said Srutakirti smiling,

“amen! let’s seek the Infinite in nought,
and find romance in boredom !”

Even so the Raghus and the children
of the House of Janaka
made forays into the field of language
and shaped their elusive thoughts.

The mind paused or raced or ran in reverse
gear, thoughts simmered, and feelings
desperately asked for definition :
the soul, of course, was silent.

But out of all this inner commotion
the words issued quite chiselled —
the product of the culture of ages! —
and haej their distinctive stamp.

And so the four happy wedded couples,
now finding themselves alone
for the first time, shuffled off hangovers
and conversed with ready ease.

91 Sitas Marriage

Their looks were eloquent, and when they smiled
or laughed, or made a gesture,
they seemed to indite unconscious poetry
and their speech grew symphonic.

And the minutes passed, their understanding
doubled itself through sharing,
and as night deepened, the eternities
lost themselves in the silence.

And Rishi Visvamitra lay sleepless
in his arbour, and wiestled
with the miscellany of memories
revived by Satananda.

In retrospect, where was the sense in all
that prolonged trial of strength
with Sage Vasishta, and all the fall-out
that caused hurt to so many!

It had been throughout an unequal fight
that should never have begun :
and was the end of the affair no more
than an empt' victory?

He was suspicious of condescension,
and his warm heart had never
shackfed itself to his head, or to laws
barren, hidebound and cruel.

He had always meant well, and yet the kink
in his vital consciousness
started link-reactions with their tally
of manifold suffering.

Now it all came back to him with a pang
the folly of wagering
with Vasishta about Hanschandra’s
total adhesion to Truth.

But Harischandra ^^'ould^ore willmgly
break than bend, and readily
gave up kingdom, his wife Chandrainali,
his son, his freedom itself!

Was it wise to have riven spouse from spouse,
and driven them to the dark?

That primal sin asked for expiation
in fairly similar terms.

92 Sitayam

He felt happy he had guided Rama
to deserted Gautama’s
hermitage, seen Ahalya rise again,
and greet her returning Lord.

831

Even the remembered scene was as balm
to his self-accusing soul,
and oh, how relieved was Satananda
hearing of the reunion!

832

And now the Divine had helped the Rishi
to advance and encompass
this senes of royal weddings linking

Videha and Kosala.

833

“Ah this IS the proper auspicious note
that should end my ministry,”
murmured the satisfied Visvamitra,
and sleep presently claimed him.

834

T’W^O

Canto 12: Darkness after Dawn

So soon as beneficent Dawn shone forth
over Mithila next day,
the worshipful Visvamitra took leave
of the kings, sages, princes,

and started on his journey to the peace
of his far Retreat amidst
the snow-white Himalayan fastnesses
in high heaven’s neighbourhood.

Rama's tutelage in arms had ended
with the breaking of the Bow,
the significant bride-price of valour
for winning Maithili's hand.

Kausika's own classic confrontation
with V, s.shta, the chequered
and prolongeii idventurc of advancement
from King to Brahma Rishi :

the tantalising spiral of ascent
bridging th inlinitudes,
the Jipothcosis at Siddhashrama,
the acme of Fulfilment:

the timely redemption of Ahalya,
her reunion with her Lord :
the meeting with Janaka, the wedding
of Rama and Maithili:

Visvamitra, half-reading the future
as from a Book held open,
was now content to retire from the scene
. and let the action unfold.

After the sage Kausika’s departure,
Dasaratha, his royal
retinue, the entire n. :irriage party
along with the four Princes,

and Maithili and the other three brides
each endowed with a dowry
vast and variegated comprising cows,
carpets, maids-in-attendance.

96 Sitayana

and a largesse of precious stones, sapphires,
rubies, pearls, gold and silver;
taking leave of their Host, the party left

Mithila for Ayodhya.

10

The festive caravan had not gone far —
the Rishis leading, the King
at the head of the four constituents
of his excellent Army :

11

the royal ladies carried with a lilt
in their nimble palanquins —
when ambiguous omens erupted
confusing Dasaratha.

12

A cyclonic wind violently blew,
the Army’s morale suffered
erosion, and the cavalcade felt trapped
in the gathering darkness.

13

The caravan lost its tight formation,
there was something like panic
and some of the platoons and carriages
were wrenched away from the main.

14

The Rishis themselves feeling ill at ease,
the King was a prey to fear,
the horses and elephants seemed disturbed,
and the attendants fainted.

15

In the developing situation
of bleak darkness after dawn,
divers groups and sundry personages
reacted frantically;

16

“Is it the end of the world?” queried some;

"Yama’s onslaught!” sighed others;

“Who would have thought that so fair a morning
could turn so foul soon after!”

17

Vasishta, hiding his own concern, tried
to calm the terrified King,
and the more seasoned reasoned with the rest
not to panic and succumb.

18

In the wild confusion of the moment
and the impact of the gale,
one of the pi^lanquins drifted away
as if driven ttom behind.

19

97 Darkness after Dawn

Tlie bearers seemed helpless, for the dmt-whirl
and the blanket of darkness
hampered freedom of movement, and they could
neither turn back nor hold on. 20

The twin occupants of the palanquin,

Maithili and Urmila,
felt ruffled by the cyclonic upset
but held themselves in patience. 21

By direction of some obscure sixth sense,
the bearers wilted and lounged
yet purblindly negotiated their way
through the dust and the darkness. 22

Already the palanquin was steering
a course of its own, pushing
than being pushed by the panting bearers
toward a destination. 23

The din and dust and the pall of darkness
grew less an3 iess, the bearers
could see the green smiling earth more clearly,
and they now felt more at ease. 24

The sky was clear again, the commotion
and fear had been left behind,
and the bearers could see at some distance
the vague outlines of a hut. 25

Maithili, admirable in her poise
of self-control, felt a leap
of recognition, and asked the bearers
to set the palanquin down. 26

“Let us walk up to yonder hermitage
said Sita to Urmila;

“Itt’s meet the inmates, offer obeisance,

and*scek their benedictions.” 27

Lightly stepping down from the palanquin
they walked with quick eager steps,
paused at the wicket for a while before
entering the Ashrama. 28

Beyond the vestibule, they suddenly
stood arrested, for they saw
a presence, a Light, a woman divine
receiving them with a smile.

29

98 Sitayana

Sita knew at once it was Ahalya
the Bride of Resurrection,
the victor of askesis, and Woman
ageless and forever young.

30

‘‘Mother Ahalya!" Sita cried, her eyes
filled with tears, and fell prostrate;
and Urmila followed : ‘twas a moment
of maturity for them.

31

The gracious understanding Ahalya
raised them with her hands, embraced
them warmly, and with the touch of her palms
conveyed her benedictions.

32

“Welcome, my children!" she said, and added:

“but you who are in bridal
weeds, what has brought you to this Ashrama,
and in such tell-tale distress?"

33

The light of communion flashed, and Sita
leturned a ready reply:

“Tm Maithili Sita, Janaka’s child;
this, my sister Urmila.

34

But yesterday. King Dasaratha’s son,

Rama, ordained me his wife,
and his younger brother. Prince Lakshmana,
married my deaf Urmila.

35

This morning, journeying to Ayodhya,
we saw sinister omens,

and darkness, disturbing winds and dust-whirls
threw us into confusion.

36

Our palanquin was somehow sharply wrenched
from the crawling caravan,
and after frightening uncertainties
we were led to this threshold.

37

Ah Mother Ahalya, Providence does
shape our ends indeed, and out
of the briars of alarm and danger
extract? the nectar of Grace!”

38

In a sharp accession of pain and joy

Ahalya embraced Sita
murmuring the language of mother-love
and measureless gratitude.

39

99 Darkness after Dawn

"Sita, Sita!’’ she almost cried in jov.

"O immaculate Earth-born,
my redeemer Rama’s resplendent spouse,
auspiciousness becomes you!”

She paused and sighed deeply and continued :

'‘Ah Sita, but don’t you know —
haven’t you heard about my sad history,
and what I owe to Rama?”

As Urmila with her great self-control
stood tongue-tied and statuesque,

Sita drew close to Ahalya and said:

“Mother, he has told me all.

For Rama and Lakshmana, as also
for Urmila and myself,
you're Woman with the badge of Sufferance,
WoTnan human and divine.

Hlest was i\w moment he crossed your threshold
and beheld you, new-risen
like Goddess Lakshmi out of the lotus,
and paid jb; isance to you.

What’s there for us to know, O sweet Mother,
what can our ignorance know
about the ways of gods, men and demons,
and who will presume to judge?”

Once again Ahalya cast on the twain
her deep compassionate look,
led them to an enclosure seating them
on the bare well-seasoned floor.

There she sat, like monumental Patience,
stainless white and pure serene,
confronting heaven, the limits of hell,
a^d our entire earth as well.

Then, from the depths*of her past agony,
her soothing ambrosial voice
indited the music of suffering
and the hymn of alchemy :

"Sita, Urmila! may joy attend you
all your life, may pain never
cross your path, may you find the joy supreme
in Rama and Lakshmana.

1 00 Sitayana

And yet, dear innocent children, I must
lay open my heart to you;
indelible the script that’s written there,
a warning for womankind!"

Canto 13; Ahalya’s Outburst

After a pause and a dismissive shrug
that silenced hesitation,

Ahalya came out of the clinging clouds
of viperous memory,

and, as if with a definitive jerk,
the mythical and living
Ahalya, sepulchrally serious
yet tremblingly vivacious,

her reticence o’ercome by defiance,
her eyes shimmering with love,
her voice a power of incantation,

she spoke to the Princesses ;

•

“Thi% oui world is doubtless charged with beauty,
and beauty h> Truth and Love,
and beauty is sweet, beauty is madhu,
beauty is sheer ananda.

In practice, though, our all too familiar
ground of being is peppered
with seductive sinister booby-traps,
and woe to the unwary !

In the cockpit of penitential earth,

Devas, Asuras and Men
wage their interminable battles for
mastery or survival.

No holds are barred - the demons are selfish
and acquisitive, the gods
jealous of their power and ♦heir glory,
and we’re but pawns in their game.

They talk of human frailty, my children,
but the vast scenario
of earth-life is a manifestation
of the feuding egoisms.

My mystic antecedents didn’t guard me,
nor my being the righteous
Gautama’s spouse, nor yet my long-tested
relationship with my Lord.

1 02 Sitayana

The whole brood of Devas was jealous
of Gautama’s eminence,
and Indra too had old scores to settle—
the blow had to fall on me!

60

I was a trapped animal, and the gods
gambled for my transgression,
and ere 1 knew what it was I had done,

I had doomed myself indeed.

61

When unseemly illegitimate lust,
bom of the ego’s petty
fevers of aggressive desire, smothers
reason and restraint alike,

62

there’s nothing the wretched male animal
will refrain from exploiting —
cunning, fraud, masks, coward self-abasement
for encompassing his end.

63

By a quirk of misfortune, place and time
and attendant circumstance
might all conspire to drag the unwary
and land her in the abyss!

64

When the so-called 'god of gods’ plays the cad
and conspires to entangle
in his meshes of insatiable lust
a woman in sluihber’s daze.

65

the struggle is not evenly balanced,
frailty is rendered more frail,
the wily rover scores an easy win —
but ’tis the woman that pays.

66

And O Sita, the incorrigible

Indra, the impenitent,
although wedded to the noble Sachi
the feminine paragon.

67

the renegade lord of the upper air
would neither learn nor forget;
and every time he sins against the Light
he pla 'S Time’s poltroon and knave.

68

Once when the fair Ruchi was left alone
in her syl an Hermitage,
for her spouse, Deva Sarman, was away
performing a Sacrifice

69

1 03 A halya 5 Outburst

the wretched Indra thought he had his chance
and made haste to approach her
with all the display of his peacock-plumes
and push of unbridled lust.

But there was the vigilant Vipula
the Rishi’s young disciple
alert to counter the lecherous god’s
mad moves and machinations.

Sitting immobile and rather aloof
near the Ashrama entrance,
the half-hidden Vipula, tense in thought,
watched the developing scene

Then, in a pre-emptive action, he fixed
his blazing eyes on Ruchi’s
in a decisive mesmerising stare,
ar<^ iPjde her immune from harm.

Leaving his dwn body untenanted —
no more than a statue now! —

Vipula’s puissant soul held her captive,
and she ’ ort a vacant look.

The unashamed impetuous Indra
in<i fever of passion

drew closer, but ghost-like she only asked :
“Stranger, what has brought you here?”

Like a chill blast from Himavant, the words
caused a shrinking of the god,
his startled eyes saw the Presence within,
and panic o'erpowered him.

Back in his own shining Yogic body,

• the ascetic sprang forwrrd
and ^poke to the guilty god clumsily
beating a shamefaced retreat :

‘Was it not enougn, O god ungodlv,
that Gautama in his ire
cursed you with an all-sex shape for the wrong
you had done to Ahalya?_

Get the, gone with your badge of infamy
ere my full wrath turns on you,
or the Rishi my Preceptor returns
and destroys you with a look.’

104 Sitayana

And with this defeat and ignominy
the diminished and crumbling
Indra disappeared among the dark clouds
with a whimper and a whine.

Ah Sita, the almost vulnerable
and unsuspecting Ruchi
was yet saved by the protective armour
cast on her by Vipula.

‘Twas, besides, in the tell-tale light of day,
and not during the witching
penumbra between darkness and the dawn
that breeds dreams and fantasies.

And worse and worse, the interloper god
came disguised as Gautama
seized with a frenzy of instant desire —
and my frailty undid me.

I say this, Sita, not in self-defence,
for my soul, were it awake,
should have seen through the ruse and wickedness
and flayed the false god alive.

But this I would say, Sita, Urmila,

‘tis safer to have a shield
like the wide-awake Muni Vipula
whom no trespasser can cheat.

Ruchi was rather naive, but he was there
like a great life-belt around,
a guardian spirit whose strong antennae
were a wall of insurance.

No doubt,- Sita, there’s the soul’s secret strength
of which we are unaware,
but the elect may invoke its reserves
and immobilise the foe.

Gautama tells me that the greatest feat
is not simply to checkmate
or destroy, but knead and transform the dross
into the golden sublime.

A true nonpareil of our womankind
is Sati Anasuya,

Rishi Atri’s sainted spouse; she charges
earth-life with a glow divine.

1 05 Ahalya 5 Outburst

And the wondrous tale is told of Sati
Savitri, Aswapathy’s

daughter, who wrested her Satyavan’s life
from Yama, the lord of dealh.

Aye, the name, its invocation, can be
a potent incantation,
and her dialectic of transcendence
chases the shadows away.

But then, more easily caught as we are
in the moment's confusion,
the hapless ones opt for the lesser lure,
and only Grace can redeem.

Let not this outburst, children, scarify
or darken the path ahead;
the human psyche is destined to fare
forward and reach greater heights.

Asur'i di d Rakshasa will alike
be left behind, and the gods,
even they may be exceeded at last
by the New Woman, New Man.

While the spiralling climb is long and steep
and this errant life is brief,
there’s yet the sovereign reserve force of Grace,
and on that we must rely.

Grace is greater than all the denizens
of the upper or nether
worlds, and Grace came to me in the person
and power of Raghava!”

She was shaken by sobs, but she quickly
gained control; and her frail frame
was now lit by her soul’s light, and she blessed

the young brides with all her heart.

•

They didn’t of course comprehend all they heard,
but they couldn’t miss*the tension,
nor the tenor, of Ahalya’s outburst,
nor her anguished commitment.

But before either of them could find words,
Ahalya was once more rocked
by an uncontrollable emotion
and spoke out as one inspired;

1 06 Sitayana

“O my dear children, O inheritors
of the load of all past years,

0 daughters of this age, its heritage
of pain, and its hope and faith:

it is not the poisoned past that disturbs
the feel of security,
but the abominations that I see
on the screens of the future.

1 see in a bleeding and blinding flash
the fair fouled with callous ease,

I see numberless discriminations
and squalid aberrations;

I see the delicate Nara-Nari
harmony mauled and mangled,

I see home and hearth and the sacred Fire
riven and desecrated ;

I see things — how shall I now describe them?

I see such horrendous things,
sepulchral sequences and denouements
that defy understanding.

I see Man stooping low enough to shame
the Asura and the Beast;

I see Woman unfeminised, flaunting
her crass unwomanliness.

Not the worst yet: I see the devil-dance
of the seven deadly sins;

I see women staled, enslaved ; and female
children cast out unwanted.

I see widows on the funeral pyres
of their late partners in life,
and I see child widows of cherubim
innocence branded with sin !

None is spared alas, only degraded
with abominations done
to their persons and psyches ; and I see
bride-burnings and dowry -deaths!

Why have I returned to life to view these
precipitvjus descents from
Woman as Shakti arid Grace to Woman
as object ard possession!

1 07 A halya *s Outburst

No more, no more are they divinities,
the power-embodiments
of majesty, strength, beauty, compassion,
largesse, love, magnificence —

not Maheshvari, nor Sarasvati,
nor Tripurasundari:
the new blasphemy deflates the woman
from goddess to gadgetry !

Past the long millenniums of chequered
terrestrial history,

1 see the degraded, demoralised

toy, sport, game, fun, footstool, slave :

a consumerist piece of merchandise
to be bought, got, bartered, sold,
used, misused, abused, or left long unused
and callously cast away:

woman, woman, placed on a pedestal
one moment, then ignobly
herded with a hundred other victims
in the gilded gynaeceum!

Can a time ev^i enfold when woman
will be abit < 0 resist
the thousand varieties of violence
to h^r body and psyche?”

Ahalya, shaken by spasms anew,
yet with a mighty effort
regained her self-control and self-knowledge
and truimphant self-respect.

“I don’t know, Sita, what came over me,”
she said weakly, haltingly;

“perhaps these are but feverish fancies,

^nd therefore of no account

And I -know that at the heart of all things
there reigns the august power
of Grace, and whatever the appearance,

Grace shapes events in the end.

The sky may seem o’ercast, and lightning and
thunder may split it apart,
but patience, faith and a trustful waiting,
and the earth will smile once more.

108 Sitayam

Urmila, and Sita my Rama’s bride,
providential this meeting;
ril watch o’er you with a mother’s concern
and insulate you from harm.” 120

As she raised her hand in a fond gesture
of blessing and protection,
there was a rustle of footsteps without,
and Srutakirti burst in.

Followed Mandavi, and there was relief
and excitement as she cried:

“We’ve found you at last, Sita, Urmila!

They’re seeking you everywhere.”

A renewed brightness lit Maithili’s face
as she sprang up and embraced
her sisters, and she asked them to offer
obeisance to Ahalya.

Her face shone with a lucent ecstasy
as she blessed the sisters all,
and the sage and serious Mandavi
now recalled the happenings:

“You know, Sita, we were trapped in darkness
and made senseless by panic;
but the suspense was broken by a shout
from what seemed a mighty blaze.

It was axe-wielding Parashurama,
his eyes glaring with anger,
his hand holding a horrifying Bow
and an ominous arrow.

We learned that, incensed by Rama’s breaking
of Shiva’ bow, Bhargava
had flourished the companion Vishnu’s Bow
and dared Rama to string it. 127

While the terrified King and those around
scented the end of the world,

Rama swiftly strung the Bow and fitted

the arrow, and spoke calmly: 128

“See, I’v^ done what you thought I could not do:

tell me whither I' shall send
this arrow, for while I wiU spare your life,
the charge must have its target.”

121

122

123

124

125

126

129

1 09 Ahalya ’s Outburst

At this unexpected turn of events,

Rama of the battle-axe
visibly dwindled as though his credit
had been burnt by Rama’s Light.

And surrendering the bliss-worlds of his
askesis to the missile,
he speeded to Mahendra his retreat :
and the great Sun shone again.

Like one vouchsafed another lease of life,
the King was a fount of joy,
and everyone was relieved, but Rama
calmly took it in his stride.

It was then that we found your palanquin
missing, and panic prevailed
once more, and they're scouring the entire place
come, let’s go back to the main.”

Just then the gloried Gautama came in,
and seizing all at a glance,
the Sage gave his blessings to Maithili
and the other Princesses.

Ahalya too wore a radiant look
and waved her blessing to all,
and Sita, Urmila and their sisters
rejoined the royal party.

Reassured by Maithili’s safe return
Rama offered obeisance
to the King, who then led his Divisions
on their march to Ayodhya.

Canto 14: Apprenticeship in Kingcraft

‘Twas a spontaneous and hearty welcome
they received in the City,
and the o’erjoyed citizens had come out
and met them at some distance; 137

and banners, trumpets, music, shouts of praise,
flowers, flowers all the way,
and the elders with their benedictions,
and all faces bright with cheer. 1 38

The four wedded couples were now assigned
luxuriant suites of rooms,
and the happy Queen-Mothers - Kausalya,

Sumitra and Kaikeyi — 139

guided them around the city’s Temples
as also the palace shrines,
and watched the newly married offer their
rich oblations in the Fire 140

When they were back at last in their Chambers,

Sita recalled to Rama
her extraordinary conversation

with prophetic- Ahalya 141

Rama was withdrawn for a while in thought,
for he saw as in a flash
the earlier mystic phenomenon

of her transfiguration 142

Then he said soothingly to Maithili
“In Ahalya’s history
womanhood has a scalding memory
and the hope of transcendence ” 143

Weeks passed and, on a request from Uncle
Yudhajit, the King agreed
that Bharata and Satrughna should spend
some time in Rajagriha

In Kekaya’s fair capital city,
they found enlightening things,
and Uncle and Grandfather loaded them
with generous attention.

145

1 1 1 Apprenticeship in Kingcraft

Meanwhile in Ayodhya there was the burst
of a new efflorescence,
and commoner and elect alike had
the blessings of righteous rule. 146

The coming of Sita the auspicious
Earth-bom to Dasaratha’s
Kingdom, and the married state of Rama
and Sita, were gifts of Grace. 147

They were happy, and were the fountain-source
of happiness in others,
for there was witnessed a daily beauty

in their holy wedded life. 148

And Sita, while she missed her Mithila,
she hardly felt a stranger
in Ayodhya’s stately mansions, busy,
streets, or among its people. 149

With a compelling native ease she forged
the right equation with all,
and at no time was she plagued with a sense

of wry al'cnation. 150

If Rama was a mosaic of many
virtues and accomplishments,

Sita too shone as a rare ensemble
of the graces and glories. 151

She knew the language of courteous address
and won the approbation
of Kausalya, Siimitra, Kaikeyi,

and Dasaratha as well. 152

Soon after settling down in Ayodhya,

Sita along with Rama
visited Sage Vasishta’s Ashrama
beyond the city's confines. 153

They offered obeisance.iu the Rishi
and Arundhati his spouse,
and while the Priest and the Prince held converse

on the concerns of the State, 154

the Rishipatni guided the Princess
to aij inner enclosure,
and Sita forged the links of love at once,
and they spoke without restraint.

155

112 Sitayam

“For my sisters as for me,” said Sita,

“you’ve been an impossible
exemplar of the feminine sublime,
like Mithila’s Maitreyi. 156

And during my journey to Ayodhya,

I also happened to meet
the prophetess-like Ahalya, after
her phenomenal rebirth. 157

Having arrived at the High Road of life,
while the primrose path invites,
already I’ve had a feel of the thorns,
and now seek godspeed from you.” 158

“Ah my child !” said Arundhati softly ,

“you do not know what you are,
and it’s best so; but receive my blessings,

Sita, and may you prosper. 1 59

Having seen many cycles of seasons,
the likes of me have a store
of experience which distils sometimes
into a sort of wisdom. 160

But the futiu% can defy the wisest ;

what we might see are pointers,
and often a hazy incoherence

or a crass contradiction. 161

I was one of nine daughters, my mother
was the famed Devahuti,
my father, Kardama Prajapati ;

and I married Vasishta. 162

Can you ask for a finer conjunction
of favoured antecedents?

I’m becoming a proverb, prototype,
a way of life and learning. 163

But all this means little, for the future
bafiSes me as much as you,
and beyond the firm reliance on Grace
no other safeguard I know. 164

The past is gone, the future hasn’t arrived;

and this atn'nic instant
tries a fusion ot ihe eternities,
and feels thwarted and let down.

165

1 1 3 Apprenticeship in Kingcraft

You may have heard of the prolonged feuding
between Vasishta my Lord
and the formidable Visvamitra:

what weariness of spirit! 166

And so it is, almost always : knowledge
hastens, but wisdom lingers;
hence the endless need for humility,
and the reliance on Grace. 1 67

Sit a, Sita, my tired old eyes yet see
you framed in infinity :
you’re come to humankind as a power,
a penance and a promise. 168

I see the veiled contradictions, the clouds,
the lightnings and the rumblings,
and also the Sun, the steady splendour
beyond: God bless you, my child!” 169

While ®:*a’s surface mind felt rather dazed,
there was a descent of peace
and puissance in the uncanny listening
of her consecrated soul. 170

She smiled om c' the achieved poise within,
and made obeisance again ;
and they rejoined Vasishta and Rama
as -they were about to rise. 171

Thus Rama with his eyes aflame with joy :

“Besides Kingcraft, Sita, I’ve
also learnt from the Sage the Seven Steps
of Ascent towards the Truth. 172

Let’s aspire, Sita, for the auspicious,
act with discrimination,
rid ourselves from the taint of aitachmeni .

• these are the ground of the rest. 173

We ihight then be able to view the world
of forms as illusory

since the One both underscores and transcends
all, and we’re That, That alone. 1 74

And so, Sita, the Sage advises us
that we should seize, dismantle
and destroy the ego-knot of vipers,
and rise to the highest Light.

175

114 Sitayana

The Guru’s lucid teaching, Maithili,
can be the best sheet-anchor
in the troubled years to come : let’s offer
our obeisance to the Sage.”

Then the happy couple, their inner doubts
quietened, their minds of light
conscious of their power and direction,
withdrew from the Ashrama.

In the coming weeks, as affairs of State
came under Rama’s notice
for disposal, he proved more than equal
to the demands made on him.

Brave, handsome, soft-spoken; free from envy,
anger, pride or resentment;

Rama had no use for frivolous speech,
and he was not passion’s slave.

In the everyday commerce of civic
life, Rama met the people
freely, spoke first, spoke in honeyed accents,
and spoke to friendly effect.

He befriended the learned and the wise,
and was well schooled in Dharma;
he knew the pulse of the poor, and they too
found in him a ready friend.

Learning in league with wisdom, and prowess
leavened with pity, Rama’s
excellences made him an exemplar
of noble princely living.

But this daily miracle of Rama’s
many-sided ministry
as the senior Prince of Ayodhya
owed a great deal to Sita.

She was the Shakti, his necessary
helpmate, the infallible
reservoir of his strength, and the central
inspiration behind him.

He saw in her his deeper truer self ;

she shared his thoughts, anxieties,
dreams, hopes, fears ; and he willingly listened
to her voice of intuition.

1 1 5 Apprenticeship in Kingcraft

While he was intimate with Vedic lore
and knew the ancillaries,
the arts and the science of war and peace
found in him a paragon.

The scholar, debator and courtier,
counsellor and justiciar,
warrior, sportsman and artist made him
the darling of all the world :

and yet ‘twas the unqualified backing
from the Sita ambience,
the constant link with the pure underground
waters of the Earth-spirit,

this gloried pairing of immaculate
Purusha with eternal
Prakriti, 'twas this merging of Powers
that made the success story.

When Rama and Sita visited one
of the several Temples
in Ayodhya, they would be lost among
the converging devotees.

By sharing ^!ie ' opes and aspirations
of the many, as also
the pain of deprivation and defeat
of the inarticulate,

Rama and Sita hymned their souls’ prayer
for the desired communion
with the laggards of the race, and found too
the key to their redemption.

Whenever in the honeyed harmony
of the Bliss of Existence
distortions erupt, and aberrations,

• scissions, alienations,

only the deeper poise of the Spirit
can by its alchemic foj-ce
dissolve the discoi dances and restore
the native creative stance.

Oftentimes accompanying Rama
on his tours of the city,

Sita felt a delegation of trust
for the voiceless of the earth.

116 Sitayana

They had no need to speak out the saga
of their wants and discontents:
she read them at a glance on their faces,
and her eyes told Rama all.

At other times, when they went visiting
the secluded Ashramas
of the ecstatics and the hierophants,
the two were a living soul;

and during the long sessions of sustained
exploration of the Self,
together they traversed the world-spiral
from Inconscience to the Light.

This never ceasing Ministry of Love
for the people and the State,
sometimes Sita alongside of Rama,
and oft as if on her own,

and always held together by the link,
the sense of identity

that makes of marriage a squaring of strengths
and a soaring unity:

this incessant prayerful acceptance
of responsibility,
this readiness to be guided in life
by the King and the Elders :

the thousand and one acts of tenderness,
courtesy, consideration,
that both humanised Sita and her lord
and made them almost divine:

everything they did — or wisely refrained
from doing — raised their credit,
and it seemed proper to hope that Rama
would be crowned as Vicegerent.

Canto 15: Voice of the Petqile

King Dasaratha, more and more conscious
of the ravages of age

resolved at last that he would seek release
from the cares of his Office. 204

The eldest and choicest of his four sons,

Rama had in Maithili
a helpmate incomparable and wise,
and everybody loved them.

By their unblemished record of service
they had uncannily stood
the test of apprenticeship in kingcraft,
and won golden opinions.

While an this was clear to Dasaratha,
before he could unburden
himself of the worries of sovereignty,
he had first to initiate

the formal elfaion, to be followed
by the due ritualistic
installation of Rama and Sita
on the throne of Ayodhya.

A general assembly was soon convened
comprising princes, prophets
and people’s spokesmen, whom the King addressed
in a deep resonant voice: 209

“The Ikshvaku race are a royal line,
and in my own time I’ve served
my people with unwinking allegiance,
find walked the path of Dharma. 210

But ndw I face the heavy weight of years,
and finding in my eldest,

Rama, a heir worthy in every way,

I ask for your concurrence. 21 1

In a matter that concerns the welfare
of the whole commonalty,
not my preference, but your united
approbation must decide.’’ 212

205

206

207

208

1 1 8 Sitavana

A burst of universal rejoicing
greeted the King’s announcement,
and ‘Iwas like the clamour of the peacocks
welcoming the dark rain-cloud.

"O King! you’ve ruled us ably and for long,”
the congregation declared
with one voice; “it’s now time to consecrate
Rama as your Vicegerent.

With his adhesion to Dharma, and his
reliance on Maithili,

Rama will be protector of the Realm
and Father of the People.”

Feeling o’erjoyed by the people’s response,
the King desired Vasishta
and Vamadeva to take steps forthwith
for Rama’s installation.

It was the month of Chaitra, and the woods
were in blossom, and the earth
smiled everywhere, and an expectancy
filled the very atmosphere.

Translating the King’s wi.sh, the two High Priests
gave instructions regarding
the ceremony of installation
during Pushya next morning.

And orders were given for varied grains,
high canopies with pennons,
sumptuous garlands and sacred waters,
mango leaves and plantain trees.

The King now sent for Rama, and apprised
him of the people’s resolve;
and the assembled citizens cheered him,
for their dream was coming true.

Now the Assembly dispersed with feelings
of exultation and joy,
but the King, calling Rama to his room,
confided his anxieties :

‘T deem .t fit that the coronation
be done expeditiously, .
and at a tiin<* Bharata is away ;
you’ll thus be crowned tomorrow.

1 1 9 Voice of the People

I would ask you and Maithili to fast
tonight, rest on the bare ground
covered with kusa grass, and lie waking
in a deep prayerful mood.

While you are engaged in this askesis,
let Lakshmana and others
guard your chamber with all possible care
and preserve you two from harm.”

Having signified his silent consent
and offered his obeisance,

Rama hastened to Mother Kausalya’s
place to receive her blessings.

Sumitra was there already having
heard the news, and Lakshmana
had followed, and Sita had joined them too,
word having been sent to her.

But robed in the purest white

sat unconsci(jus of the rest,
withdrawn for Rama’s good in self-absorbed
meditation on the Lord.

Now as he m' dc obeisance, she opened
her eyes, saw, and heard him say;

'‘It is my father’s desire I should be
consecrated Vicegerent.

I’m asked to fast with Vaidehi tonight
and prepare for tomorrow's
ceremony : Mother, tell me the things
Maithili and I should do.”

Tearful and tremulous with her deep sense
of climactic fulfilment,

Kausalya said: '‘Raghava, my child, may
long life and all joy be yours.

As for*the discipline of fast tonight
and prayerful vigilance,#
our preceptor Vasishta would meet 'juu
and give precise instructions.”

Taking leave of his mothers, Kausalya
and Sumitra, and assured
of LakshUiana’s support, Raghava left
for his mansion with Sita.

120 Sitayam

High Priest Vasishta was there to meet them
as requested by the King,
and spelt out the minutiae concerning
the prescribed ritual fast.

233

When Vasishta left, Rama and Sita
bathed and prayed, poured oblations
in the blazing fire, and shared the remains
of the consecrated food.

234

Then spreading kusa grass on the bare ground,

Rama and Maithili lay
on it avoiding speech, and were lost in
a trance of meditation.

235

In the meantime, all over Ayodhya’s
thoroughfares, cross-roads, bylanes,
men accosted one another, and shared
the joyous news of the day.

236

Citizens gathered in little clusters
in the streets, and exchanged news
about the ensuing coronation
and heightened the festive air.

237

In hushed whispers people talked of the night's
vigil and ritual fast,
of the incandescent light in Sita’s
eyes as she stood by Rama,

238

of the aura of pure felicity
that surrounded Kausalya
as she pronounced her sweet benedictions
on Rama and Maithili,

239

of Dasaratha’s trembling happiness,
although marred by nervousness
and a strange unpredictability
of mien and mood and method.

240

And there weren’t wanting a few here and there
commenting on Bharata’s
absence in Kekaya and the patent
haste behind the proceedings.

241

‘Twas ir conceivable that Bharata,
had he remained, would have felt
otherwise than happy beyond measure
at Rama’s coronation!

242

1 2 1 yoice of the People

Thus the habitual suspicion-mongers
questioning the suddenness
of the resolve, and the hugger-mugger
style of the preparations. 243

But the common heave of hope and surmise
saw in Rama and Sita
the God-given trustees of the Kingdom
for the dawning Golden Age. 244

Canto 16; The Crookback and Kaikeyi

Like tens of thousands of the citizens
of Ayodhya who partook
of the great excitement of that evening
as it merged into the night,

the hunchback Manthara, crooked in mind
as she was warped in her soul,
and misshappen and stunted in body,
she too was caught with the rest.

She breathed at once the exhilarating
air. and felt a nippiness,
an exceptional buoyancy, a feel
and taste of the wonderful.

It was her nature to feel allergic
to all that was auspicious,
and with a dyspeptic's sharp reaction
she recoiled from the gaiety.

And it didn't take her long to sniff about
with a keen suspicious look
and discover the reason for the night's
thrust of festive rejoicing.

What traumatic childhood experience,
what knotted mole of nature
or what frozen debit of frustration
gave the push to her actions?

Of obscure origin, she had been nurse
and woman in attendance
and confidante to Kaikeyi, and had
followed her to Ayodhya.

There she had dwelt apart with a cringing
and possessive smile tor her
royal mistress, and a hardly concealed
scowl for everybody else.

That Kausalya’s son — and not Kaikeyi's
would be installed Vicegerent
hit her in tnc tomach, and the hunchback
yelled within and swore an oath :

1 23 The Crookback and Kaikeyi

“Oh Hell! for ruin will seize Kaikeyi:

what’s Rama’s but Kausalya’s
ascendancy and Kaikeyi’s eclipse
and my own defeat and death ! 254

This must not be! I’ll rush to Kaikeyi,
rouse all the sleeping devils
and unleash a palace revolution

before the end of this night.” 255

Thus infernally stirred and spewing fumes
of deadly malignancy,
she rushed to Kaikeyi’s chambers as fast

as her feet would carry her. 256

Where’s the key that will open the casket
of the sly crookback’s hidden
iniquities, the dark malevolence

she pursued as a fine art? 257

Was Evil the goddess of her ardent
idolatry? Did she find
that universal spurt of rejoicing

a slap on he'- ugliness? 258

Which superiiuman if undivine force
gave her the sense of timing,
the cemrage trebled with cunning and tact

to intervene as she did? -59

A King, a people, a commonwealth had
decided upon a course
of action, and here erupted this freak

and declared the opposite, 260

Was she protectress, benefactress, or
was she but the veiled temptress
out to trap her unsuspecting mistress

and doom her to perdition? 261

Sighting Kaikeyi on her splendid couch,
the crookback haJf-screamed at her;

“Awake, wretched woman, arise! Sorrow
will engulf you otherwise!” 262

Lazily lounging and yawning with ease,

Kaike\. asked: “Why, what's wrong?”

The hunchback hissed: “Fool, don't you know Rama
is to be crowned tomorrow?”

263

124 Sitayana

“Really! You couldn’t have brought me better news,”
said Kaikeyi with relief ;

“I’m o’erjoyed, for Bharata and Rama
are the same to me, the same.” 264

"Same, O witless one!” Manthara shot back;

can’t you see it’s not Rama,
but Kausalya, will lord it over you?

And what a shame, Kaikeyi ! 265

Recall, how oft, in your pride of beauty,
you’ve slighted and insulted
Kausalya the respected Senior Queen
and taken her for granted ! 266

Ah, you relied on your absolute hold
on the uxorious King;
but see, the old fox has double-crossed you,
and sacrificed your future!” 267

Even more than the words, the serpent-eyes
of the swaggering hunchback
struck responsive fire, and Kaikeyi rose
like an incited cobra. 268

Seizing the crookback in a quick embrace,
the Queen rather moaned than spoke :

“What a miserable fool I have been !

But tell me what I should do.” 269

Manthara glowed visibly as she said :

“Ah, now you are sane again.

It’s simple, and all it asks for is grit,
aye, a stony stubbornness. 270

Tell him: ‘Redeem the boons you gave, O King:

make Bharata Vicegerent
tomorrow, and let Rama be exiled
to the woods for fourteen years’.” 271

“Ah, you’ve opened my eyes,” cried Kaikeyi;

“ah, my swan-gaited charming
humpback, O my darling saviour humpback,

I’ll put down Kausalya still. 272

Let him come, the doddering deceitful
King: I’ll sulk. I’ll rave. I’ll rage.

I’ll ask that Bharata be crowned, and I’ll
ask that Rama be exiled.

273

125 The Crookback and Kaikeyi

My resourceful crookback, my glamorous
humpback, my best of hunchbacks :
oh hump of cunning, wisdom and statecraft :
how Fm beholden to you!”

Crowing on her quick success, the crookback
advised her mistress about
the tactics and the' longer strategy,
and Kaikeyi quite succumbed.

All was fair now, and she would be ruthless
indeed, and give no quarter
to reason, pity, human decency —
she must simply have her way!

Yes, as advised by the wily hunchback,
Kaikeyi would shed at once
all brightness and colour of jewellery
and clothes, and opt for the dark.

Aye, v»/ould retreat to her sob-chamber,
ahe'd he spr^^wled on the bare ground
wailing and whimpering, as if indeed
the worst mourning became her!

And so whe^ Ot*.>aratha, late at night,
reached her suite as was his wont,
he learnt she had retired in high dudgeon
to hter Chamber of Protest.

The news unnerved the patriarchal King,
and he rushed to the Dark Room
in the unleashed agony of suspense
and fear of fatality.

I'aking in at once the depressing scene
of the Queen lost in sinful
self-abuse, the sinless aged monarch
felt chilled by the reception.

What was this startling omen sinister
that threatened to tumble down
with one lethal stroke the great edifice
of the future he had planned!

Between the intended coronation
and the accomplished event,
what sinister shadows, what frightful gales,
may not cross and cause defeat !

1 26 Shayana

Night is cover for hatching strategems,
night is the season of rest
and renewal, and night is the mystic
cave for askesis and Light! 284

Canto 17; The Great Renunciation

After the night’s vigil and blissful peace
Rama and Sita got up
to the music of the minstrels, and ‘twas
the fair hour before the Dawn.

In an atmosphere of expectancy
and hope abounding, they bathed,
attired themselves in silk, offered prayers,
and received Vedic blessings.

Dawn over Ayodhya seemed to predict
a day of splendorous bliss,
and in their heady anticipation.

the citizens beamed with joy.

•

Ayodhy:, with its temples and broad streets,
the stately f ..tooncd mansions,
the public squares filling with visitors
from Kosala’s countryside:

a bustle of I.i ctic activity
in the royal Guest Houses
where invited dignitaries recalled
Dasaratha’s achievements:

and Nature -- the wondrous munificence
of the elements, the Sun.
and sky, and wind, and Sarayu’s sweet flow —
seemed to smile on the future.

The hour after sunrise saw Ayodhya,
the best of cities, now more
than ever well swept and watered, and decked
with arches, buntings, flowers.

The shops dazzled, with their glittering show
of attractive goo^’.;; the air
was heavy with incense; and everywhere
people talked of the event .

And from his Ashrama on the outskirts,
Vasishta arrived in time;
and assembled already were the limbs
of the great ceremony :

128 Sitayana

sacred waters in pots from the rivers;

the holy Chair made of fig;
chariot, umbrella, the lion-throne;
the sword, the bow, the quiver;

a variety of birds, beasts, grains, flowers;

plenty of milk, curd, honey,
an ensemble of gems, maids, preceptors;
and the well-lit Sacred Fire.

Approving the arrangements, Vasishta
wanted the King to be told
that the auspicious hour was approaching
and the function should begin.

Indeed, the spacious Coronation Hall
was filled already with guests -
the visiting Kings, Rishis and minstrels
who were getting impatient.

The trusted charioteer, Sumantra,
entering the King’s chamber,
made known respectfully the anxiety
of Vasishta and the guests.

But the King’s demeanour was pitiful
to behold, for verily
he was like a sick man mumbling under
the grip of delirium ;

or he lay sullen, immobile, half-dead,
like an aged king-cobra,
once the pride of the race, now mesmerised
by a ruthless snake-charmer.

The King was a picture of misery,
his eyes were bloodshot, he seemed
a prisoner of self-wrought helplessness,
and Twas Kaikeyi who spoke :

“Sumantra, the King is tired on account
of sleeplessness ; in his name t

I ask you to get Rama here at once :
the King has something to say.”

In deep dejxtion, Sumantra retired
with bowed head, and went along
crowded and festive Kingsway to Rama’s
magnificent Ki dence.

129 The Great Renunciation

Having alighted from the chariot
in the innermost courtyard,

Sumantra passed the throng of visitors
and sought Rama’s audience.

Seeing the Prince seated by Sita’s side
on a luxurious couch,
and adorned in appropriate measure
and radiant like a god,

Sumantra bowed deeply and said: “Rama,
Kausalya’s beloved son !
the King your father and Queen Kaikeyi
desire to see you at once.”

When Rama sought Sita’s leave to follow
Sumantra, she rose to say :

“Vicegerent today, may you qualify
for R^ajasuya as well !

As you perform that noble Sacrifice
wearing the cnoicest deer-skin
and taking the due ceremonial vows,
by your side, Rama, I’ll be.

Indra in the t Yama in the South,
great Varuna in the West,
and Kubera in the North : may the Four
protect you always from harm!”

Assuring Sita that all would be well
and armed with her good wishes,

Rama came out followed by Sumantra,
and Lakshmana joined them too.

As the three speeded in the chariot
along Kingsway, a loud burst
of rejoicing rose from the citizens
lauding Rama and Sita.

Seizing that bright morning its bracing air,
Ayodhya’s citizen, filled
the mainstreets and greeted their Royal Prince ;
and he wished them back in tarn.

Hadn’t it been said: “One who doesn’t see Rama
or one whom Rama doesn’t see,
such a hapless one is censured by all,
and his own soul condemns him!”

130 Sitayana

Having driven through the admiring crowds,
they arrived at the Palace,
and Rama hurried to the gynaeceum
and beheld his noble Sire. 314

But 'twas the ghost of his father he saw
seated there, with Kaikeyi
as assertive and haughty as ever,
sharing the luxury couch. 315

In burning anguish Rama touched the King’s
feet, and bowed to Kaikeyi,
but the wretched King’s eyes were wet with tears
and he merely moaned ‘Rama!’ 316

A grim terror seemed to clutch at the Prince
as though he had unawares
stepped on a snake, and the listless King caused
a depression of spirits. 317

Regaining his self-possession, Rama
asked the Queen; “Why is Father
silent and sad, how have I displeased him,—
or have you hurt his feelings?” 318

Kaikeyi coolly answered: “He’s not sad,
and you haven’t hurt him; only,
having made me a promise years ago,
now like a man uncultured, 319

or a mere commoner, he’s unwilling
to redeem his plighted word.

But it is within your power, Rama,
to honour your Father’s word.” 320

Rama said simply: “I’ll do what he wants;

this is truth and the whole truth.

If he asked me to jump into the fire,
or quaff deadliest poison, 321

or drown myself in the heaving ocean,

I would do it readily.

How could you. Mother, have entertained doubts
about my prompt compliance? 322

It is for my Guru and great well-wisher,
the King, to tell me his mind :

Rama’s not th»^ double-tongued one who says
one thing, and fails in action.

323

1 3 1 The Great Renunciation

I give this assurance, Mother : I am
man of one word, and archer
whose first dart attains its aim, and husband
who prizes his only wife."

Perceptibly relieved, Kaikeyi said :

"Once after a fierce battle
your Father lay wounded, and I nursed him,
and he granted me two boons.

I asked for his redeeming them today;

first, Bharata should be made
Vicegerent; second, you should be exiled
to the woods for fourteen years.

O Rama, you can honour the King’s word
by relinquishing the crown
and living in Dandaka for nine years

and five, as an anchorite."

•

The .nui j^rous cold matter-of-factness
of Kaike^'^’s recital
hardly touched Rama’s equanimity,
and he made answer at once :

"This is no matter, 1 will obey;

let Bharata be sent for,
and ril live in the woods for fourteen years
with deer-skin and matted locks."

The grave and awesome immbobility
of Raghava’s countenance
daunted Kaikeyi, and with a flutter
of disquiet she remarked:

"Rama, you needn’t wait till Bharala comes,
that will be time-consuming;

• go at once, for till you leave, your Father

will not bathe, nor take his food."

•

Thus urged to instant action, Rama gave
this firm heroic "ply :

"Devi! my Father’s will is my Dharma,
and I’ll do it, no question:

I’m concerned that Father should look so pale,
so dazed, so miserable;
but although he has himself said nothing,
your word is enough for me.

1 32 Sitayana

I’ll now meet my Mother and receive her
blessings, and take leave of her;
then speak a few parting words to Sita
and depart for Dandaka.

But the King needn’t have made you his proxy;

or on your own you could have
asked me, without invoking the old boons
and distressing the good King.

Lady, not for preyas or the world’s goods
I care, but like the Rishis,
only for sreyas, the imperatives
of the straight path of Dharma.”

Hearing this heroic pledge, the old King
broke down and wailed piteously;
but Rama, taking leave of them, came out
with the aura of the Sun.

He gave no sign he had any regrets :

neither the loss of the Crown
nor the sentence of exile to the woods
could touch his poise in the least.

While Lakshmana, shocked by the reversal
in Rama’s fortunes, was seized
with a cold fury beyond description,

Rama remained unruffled.

He was no slave to the glories of State —
carriage, umbrella, fly-wbisk —
and preferred to walk like a commoner
with a granite self-control.

No Vicegerent now, only an exile;

still his serene face retained
its old radiance, while the sky within
was a cloudless indigo.

Tranquil was his mind like the consciousness
of a liberated soul ;
and as if beyond the dualities,
he was master of himself.

But although Rama’s soul was like a star
and wore its own crown of Truth,
the consequence of Kaikeyi’s boons
were pretty catastrophic.

133 The Great Renunciation

Like a lethal explosion releasing
reverberent reactions,

Kaikeyi’s ego-burst unleashed total
confusion in Ayodhya. 344

Word went round quickly, and rumour spread gales,
and everybody soon knew
about the hunchback’s role in transforming
the Queen into a fury. 345

How fast the venom of the news had spread
to agitate the people,
h'ke fell poison coursing through a body
stung by a vicious scorpion! 346

People talked freely of the wicked wretch
and her flair for crookedness,
of Kaikeyi’s stark inhumanity

and the King’s senility. 347

The women of Ayodhya with one voice
bemoaned the turn in affairs,
and their hearts went out to Queen Kausalya
and the princess, Maithili. 348

Meanwhile, attaining his unsuspecting
Mother’s place, Rama apprised
the long-suffering Kausalya about
the double-blow dealt to him : 349

‘Tt will be terrible for you. Mother,
and Sita and Lakshmana:

I’m exiled to Dandaka; Bharata
will be crowned Yuva Raja,” 350

For the great lady seated in prayer
and offering oblations
to the Mystic Fire,. the words Rama spoke

ha4 the effect of thunder. 351

Recovering, as Rama lifted her,

Kausalya said; “Fai better
I had remained sterile than that I should
bear you only to lose you! 352

Having faced a thousand indignities
from the King and Kaikeyi
with her constant scowl, I centered all thoughts,
hopes and dreams in you alone.

353

1 34 Sit ay am

These ten and seven years since you were born
you’ve been the prop of my life,
and as I cannot die before my time
ril come with you to the woods.”

As Lakshmana saw the consequences
of Kaikeyi’s handiwork,
a fierce transformation came over him,
and he seemed to emit flames.

His agitated frame, tense with anger,
almost trembled like a thing
unsteady, tempestuous, ominous,
and terrible to behold.

Fretting and fuming with deep resentment
Lakshmana now exploded :

“Wrong, wrong, what the King has done, driven by
evil-minded Kaikeyi!

By right the Kingdom is Rama’s; and I’ll
by force help him to seize it!

It’s not right we acquiesce in adharma ;
if need be, I’ll kill the King!”

This wild incendiary speech both shocked and
pained Kausalya all the more,
but Rama begged that she should permit him
to redeem his Father’s word.

Turning to Lakshmana, Rama pleaded
that Dharma not violence
should determine their actions, and the King
their Father must be retrieved.

No matter how it happened, their Father
felt bound, and it was Rama’s
Dharma to redeem the word and thereby
sustain the moral order.

And his mother, Kausalya, how could she
follow Rama to the woods?

Her place was clearly with the King, and there
could be no running away :

“It’s wrong to suppose that the rejection
ot Dharma can lead to good;
it’s by sustaining Dharma that we come
to be sustained by Dharma.

1 35 The Great Renunciation

Aye, Dharma is the ground of Existence,
and any conscious turning
away from its imperatives must make
the very foundations crack.”

And Rama added: '‘Listen, Lakshmana:

there are indefinable
mysterious Powers that obscurely
take a hand in our affairs.

Wasn’t Kaikeyi kind to us all along?

Why, then, the present ill-will?

We’re in the grip of some unknown forces,
and anger is no answer.

Let us, therefore, hold back our resentment,
view things soberly, wisely,
generate a mood of calm acceptance

and submit to the Divine.”

•

But neitiiei -he heart-broken Kausalya
nor the incensed Lakshmana
was to become easily reconciled
to the double iniustice.

While Lakshin r/d still raged, and Kausalya
still wished to share the exile,

Ramajs persuasive pleading and high
integrity won at last.

Unable to alter her son’s resolve,

Kausalya was now content
to shower on him a Mother’s blessings
as a shield for the future :

“Go now, if you must, but return safely
having carried out your vow.

May the weapons Visvamitra gave you

defend you infallibly.

•

May the gods and all other celestials
give you unstinted .>upport;
may the seasons, the processionary
months and days, smile upon you.

May the elements, the stars in the sky,
may the seven great Sages,
the worthy Rishis, the sylvan deities,
may all preserve you from harm!”

1 36 Sitayana

Then she dropped sanctified rice on his head,
gave him a talisman-herb,
embraced and blessed him with a trembling voice,
and let him take leave of her. 374

Almost wrenching himself from his Mother’s
embrace, he made obeisance,
circumambulated, and sped along
Kingsway towards his own house. 375

Canto 1 8 : Sita has Her Way

And while the shattering news was being
bruited about everywhere,
it had not yet reached Maithili in her
inviolate rooms within. 376

Thus when she espied Rama at long last,
so grave and drained of colour,
so devoid of his native springy air,
she cried like a wounded bird: 377

“What, what has happened, my Lord? What has gone
awry beyond redemption?

The Pushya constellation awaits us —
but your face proclaims defeat. 378

Where .'Tr ■ the minstrels and panegyrists,
where are the Veda singers,
where are the pots of milk, curd and honey,
where's the royal umbrella?" 379

He had knowr nc pain, no inner struggle
when he met Kaikeyi’s claims
with a ready Yes, for he thought only
of his own predilection. 380

His Father’s honour was to be redeemed
by his own abnegation :
this he could do, being poised in his soul
and he won the nobler crown. 381

But as he saw more and more poignantly
how his renunciation
affected his mother, brother and wife,

* he felt uneasy and sad. 382

He could also imagine how the rest —
the princes, priests and people
who had been fed on great expectations -
would react to the event. 383

No wonder it was on a subdued key
Rama spoke to Vaidchi:

“Caught in the meshes cf Dharma, the King
names Bharata Vicegerent, 384

138 Sit ay ana

and exiles me to Dandaka forest
for a term of fourteen years.

If you, Janaka’s daughter, cannot see
the light of Dharma, who can? 385

With matted hair and deer-skin, I shall leave
for the forest presently.

What can I say except urge that you should
act the brave woman you are, 386

show proper respect to the aged King,
due regard to Bharata,
love to my Mother, and bear cheerfully
the strain of separation." 387

The formal lifeless manner of his speech.

Its measured formulations
and its veiling of concern by worldly
wisdom, all hurt Maithili. 388

She felt indignant that he should be so
causal, even callous,
about the exile and separation,
and her speech was tipped with fire :

‘‘What feckless words are these you have spoken
am I to laugh, or to weep?

With your worthy warrior stance and name,
how could you speak so stalely?

Is’t right you take me, your wife, for granted
and talk of separation?

Hasn’t Kaikeyi, demanding your exile,
decreed my exile as well?

As well separate the Sun from his rays,
the shadow from the object,
or expect a swan from a mountain lake
to wallow in a gutter! 392

It suddenly comes back to me, Rama,
with a burning sensation :
the dream I often had in Mithila
figuring me in exile. 393

Aye, the dangled fruit, and the bitter dish:

and all the nameless terrors,
and the infinite credit of romance
lying coiled in the dark woods!

389

390

391

394

1 39 Sita has Her Way

For a wife, there’s neither father, mother,
son, friend, but her Lord alone:
she shares his life as much in foul weather

as in fair, and all the time. 395

Must you leave for the dark forest today?

I’ll take precedence, and walk
ahead of you making easy your path,
and ever at your service. 396

I’m sinless, and my father Janaka,
my mother too, have taught me
how, shadow-like, I should always partake
of your life’s vicissitudes. 397

Stark forest life has no terrors for me,
and indeed I’ll be happy
as in my father’s home in Mithila,
and find my felicity. 398

•

With you, Pvama, by my side, Dandaka
were Paradise enough, and
I’ll share all, suffer all, and distil joy
from even our woodland life.” 399

Twas now cKar lo Rama that, not the missed
coronation, but the threat
of severance from him consequent on
the txile, that pained Sita. 400

Rama therefore took pains to picturise
the dangers of forest life:
the lions roaring from their mountain-lairs,
rivers full of crocodiles; 401

the rugged, thorny or slushy pathwa> s,
the huge elephants in rut,
the frightening fauna of the forest,

*the din of the cataracts! 402

And for anchorites forest life would mean
a medley of privations,
and the dread proximity of pythons,
spiders, snakes and scorpions. 403

Such fright talk, more appropriate to scare
a child away than deter
an adult person, hardly moved Sita
who promptly renewed her plea :

404

140 Sitayana

“You’ve but painted one side of the picture,
but there’s another side too,
and I’ll now limn the favourable hues,
and you can judge for yourself.

What if there be the jungle’s denizens,
tigers, lions, oxen, stags,
and the rest : at your o’erpowering sight
they’ll fly, and make themselves scarce.

And remember, Rama, I am sprung from
a wooden ploughshare’s furrow,
and Earth-born as I am, I can rough out
the perils of forest life.

Besides, while still young in years, I had heard
soothsayers and ascetics
prophesying I was fated to live
for some years in the forest.

Don’t you see here the hand of the Unknown,
your exile being the means
of fulfilment of my own destiny?

Hesitate no more, my Lord!”

As Rama was unpersuaded yet,
and while declining but tried
io mollify her into submission,

Sita almost blurted out :

“My father, Janaka of Mithila,
surely chose a man as my
husband, not a woman in man’s image!

What fear governs you, my Lord?

Remember I’m like Sati Savitri
who shadowed her Satyavan;
what, having married me, would you leave me
in the care of another?

Talk you of the rugged forest pathways?

the perils of woodland life?
or of stones piercing and burning the feet
as if touched by molten wax?

But for me, . Jlama, all this is nothing
when squarely balanced against
the utter horror of separation
from you my dear plighted Lord.

405

406

407

408

409

■ 410

411

412

413

414

141 Sita has Her Way

‘Tis true I’m used to the comforts of life
in a great princely mansion:
first in Mithila where I lacked nothing
and later in Ayodhya.

415

But remember too, my lord and lover.

I’m King Janaka’s daughter,
and he didn’t flinch, aye, even when he heard
that his palace was on fire !

416

It is not the feeble form that you see,
nor the stale traditional
superstition of feminine frailty,
that’s the truth of the matter.

417

For the apparently humblest woman,
weakest, most expendable
as others may think, still dares death itself
when from her new Life issues.

418

And I can certainly say for myself
that there’s lodged deep within me
a secret potentiality of will
that may explode any time.

419

Let me come with you like your own shadow
for, after all, that’s the wife’s
allotted role, as my Father himself
stated, giving me to you.

420

This, niy lord, this popular assumption
that we’re but Doll’s House creatures
foolishly engrossed in colourful clothes
and glittering jewellery.

421

happily contained by domestic chores,
the securities of home

and boudoir, and the throes of child-bearing
• and rearing, is mere fancy.

422

If as the partaker of your Dharma

I’ve the right to share your throne,
why, it follows, I must with equal joy
feel the thorns of exile too.

423

No cheap juvenile enthusiasm, this,
nor female obstinacy :

I’ve been schooled in Mithila’s famed Retreats
in seasoned austerities.

424

142 Sitayana

Rama, Rama, don’t you see in all this
drastic reversal of things —
the missed coronation, the forced exile —
some remote control at work? 425

What the King had promised, what Kaikeyi
on the ego’s thrust has asked
for fulfilment, can make a moving Song,
but we don’t see the Minstrel. 426

Somewhere afar off, some aeons ago,
some events must have unleashed
a spiral of causality, and now

we’re caught in its gyrations. 427

The synoptic view comprehends at once
the receding darkened nights
and the beckoning noons of the future :
such is integral vision. 428

Let me come with you, for that’s my desire
and the divine intention ;
what else is to happen rests with the gods,
and let’s put our trust in them. 429

1 care not for Bharata’s protection,
my place is with you alone;
the woods cannot scare me, harm me, tire me,
baffle me, or sicken me. 430

I’ll know, with you by my side, how to make
mere woodland my true heaven
be it the worst of hells; and I will learn
to find good in everything. 431

For us who are masters of our senses
and passions, exile offers
no risks, and centered in mutual love
we can live a blissful life. 432

And let me say again that life with you
is heaven ; without you, hell ;
if you will not take me with you today,

I’ll just drink poison and die.” 433

Thus her brrning uncontrollable grief
found vehement expression
in her speech, her tears flowed in torrents, and
her face was bleached of colour.

434

143

Sita has Her Way

Overcome by her misery, Rama
took her in his protective
arms, spoke words of solace and endearment

and ended her misgivings : 435

“I’ve no choice, Vaidehi, but to redeem
my revered Father’s promise,
and this means my exile to the forest;
but you too shall come with me. 436

My Sita of perfect limbs, destiny
has marked you for forest life;
let’s, then, face life together relying

on Truth, Faith and Love alone. 437

Also, since we’ve opted for forest life,
let’s give away our valued
possessions like cows, silks, gems, gold, silver,

and let the worthy have them.” 438

•

The h,ippy outcome of the argument
between Sita and Rama
moved Lakshmana too to seek permission
to follow them to the woods: 439

“Since you lu'V' seem resolved on forest life,
allow me to go with you:
bow in hand, I can clear the path for you

and render constant service. 440

My presence isn’t needed here, as perhaps
you think, to watch Kausalya
and Sumitra, lest Kaikeyi injure
their interests yet further. 441

I believe Bharata will act fairly,
or I’ll know the reason why;
and our mothers have their own retainers
who will rise in their defence. 442

The sole religion I know is service
to you and Sita; a id now
with bow and arrow, and spade and basket.

I’ll ease forest life for you.” 443

Rama had no option but to acquiesce,
and now the three gave away
their wealth and belongings to the worthy,
the poor and the dependants.

444

144 Sitayana

The wise ones and the disprivileged ones,
the many loyal women,
the retainers and companions, friends old
and new, all went satisfied. 44S

Canto 19: Journey to Chitrakfita

Now with a rare effulgence on his face
Rama the Great Renouncer,
flanked by dazzling Sita and Saumitri,
was ready for the journey.

As they were going on foot on Kingsway,
people spoke in hushed whispers
condemning Raikeyi and the old King
and scenting a grim future.

Having meanwhile reached the royal Presence,
Rama begged leave to begin
his exile attended, as desired, by
Mai^ili and Saumitri.

In desperation, the King suggested
that Rama* should seize the throne;
or that all Ayodhya’s dwellers and wealth
should accompany Rama.

But the Prince firmly answered: “No coward
escape routes for me. Father;
you’re still the King, and the army, people,
wealth remain with you alone.

And, again, of what use will the array,
treasure or retainers be
when Sita, Lakshmana and I wander
as anchorites in the woods?”

By now Vasishta and the other Priests,
the Queens and the Ministers,
dll were gathered in the Audience Hall,
and few pairs of eyes were dry.

Many glared at grim Kaikeyi, as though
she were the agent of Doom;
but neither pleadings nor castigations
had any effect on her.

And she had ready deer-skin and tree-bark
for the use of the exiles,
and wanted even Sita to wear them,
but Vasishta ruled it out:

146 Sit ay ana

"Heartless woman! unwomanly monster!

Sita’s exile was not part
of the bond ; she goes of her own accord,
and may wear what pleases her.”

455

Taking the hint, Dasaratha ordered
that raiment and ornaments
enough for fourteen long years of exile
should be given to Sita.

456

In the confusion of the leave-taking
there were tableaus of all kinds,
moments of pathos and high poignancy,
even the sheerly sublime.

457

Tearful Mandavi took Sita aside
and said: "I know Bharata;
he’ll reject the crown, disown his mother,
and exile himself as well.”

458

Srutakirti, more sanguine, confided :

"Til take care of your parrot,
and feed it, and teach the creature to say :

'Sita is coming today!’*’

459

When Lakshmana took leave of Urmila,
she merely said: "I will wait,
and fourteen years will be like fourteen days;
let me be no drag on you!”

460

And Sumitra, sage and serious, said :

"Now Rama is your father,

Maithili is myself your mother, and

Dandaka is Ayodhya.”

461

While Dasaratha, driven to the brink
of desperation, spluttered
distractedly, alternating between
bleak nights and deceptive dawns.

462

Rama seized a moment to tell the King
that he should show due regard
to the angelic Kausalya, who had
suffered so much already.

463

Kausalya herself, embracing Sita,
commended her loyalty,
love and devoll ai even in those times
of chilling adversity.

464

147 Journey to Chitrakuta

“Where’s the Veena’s music without its strings
Sita asked; “Without its wheels,
can a chariot move? And torn from my
husband, where’s the life for me?”

And all the time, while the grim Kaikeyi
stood her ground as one soulless
and even lifeless, some were outspoken
in their bitter revilcmcnt.

Not the King and Sage Vasishta alone;

Sumantra too, who rated
Kaikeyi for being quite as heartless
as her Kekaya mother!

Yes, hadn't that self-willed woman demanded
that, at the risk of his life,
her Lord should pamper her petty desire,
and •thus hastened her own end?

And groups of Mcn and women from a great
distance glared at her as though
they would, if they could, disintegrate her
inio invisibl a

Now suddenly Rama’s voice rose above
the bu/z and din of the place:

“Llders, brothers, mothers, sisters! Forgive
our trespasses if any.

We may have, perhaps inadvertently,
spoken harshly or behaved
foolishly, but now that we are going,
forget, and wish us godspeed!”

The words so sincere and so apposite
wrung tears from the assembled,
tlie ladies most of all, and the packed Hall
resounded with their wailing.

Presently, as directed by the King,

Sumantra had a horse-drawn
carriage ready, and well-adorned Sita
climbed into it first with ease.

Then Lakshmana placed in the chariot
the bows and arrows and all
their celestial weaponry, as also
the baskets and pickaxes.

148 Sitayana

Now Rama and Lakshmana too got in,
even as a thousand eyes
converged upon the three and grew misty
and moist, and tears flowed freely.

But Sumantra, hardening his heart, spurred
his horses into a run,
and the journey from Ayodhya began
towards frontiers unknown.

The carriage raced ahead, but men, women
and children, pushed by their grief,
lurched forward and ti ied at least to restrain
the gallop of the horses.

While the citizens cried frantically
‘Stop, Sumantra, stop!’, Rama
urged him ‘Faster, faster!’, and no wonder
the pace of progress was slow.

Gnawed by grief, the King himself scrambled out
and Kausalya with him, and
they tried to o’ertake the chariot, and
have a glimpse of the children.

But Rama couldn’t bear the sight of Father
and Mother trailing like this,
and asked Sumantra to drive yet faster
and end the grim agony.

Checkmated, Dasaratha stood as long
as possible on the road,
straining to see the disappearing car
till he just slumped on the ground.

Sighting Kaikeyi, he spumed her at once,
neither wife nor kin was she ;
and he desired to be conveyed only
to Queen Kausalya’s chambers:

“At different times, answering the need
of the moment, Kausalya
has been my Queen, Beloved, companion,
mother, sister, servant, nurse.

Woe is me that I should have long ignored
this paragon of good speech
and unblemished behaviour in favour
of the monster, Kaikeyi !’’

149 Journey to Chitrakuta

And yet, for all the speed of the horses,
other ardent citizens
of Ayodhya trailed the chariot far,
far beyond the city gates.

What love and devotion beyond compare,
thought Rama as he surveyed
the throng of citizens coming behind
the fast-driven chariot.

He tried to reason with them but in vain,
and in their turn they appealed
to the horses not to carry away
their well-beloved Rama.

In answer, all three got down from the car
and walked on foot for a while;
this meant mutual commiseration,
but didn’t resolve the issue.

Reaching the ’‘ivtr, Tamasa, fatigue
overcame the travellers

and deep slumber claimed them ; the horses too
rolled on the grf'und with relief.

When past midnight, Rama asked Sumantra
to adopt a cunning ruse
and persevere with the journey, leaving
the tired citizens behind.

Sumantra first conveyed his charge across
the river, returned and drove
towards the North awhile, then back again,
to continue the journey.

With Ayodhya’s citizens thus thrown off
. the scent, Rama, Maithili
and Saumitri were set firmly towards
thfi southern forest reaches.

The chariot sped thi .mgh the villages
crossing various rivers —

Vedasmti, Gomati, Syandika —
and Kosala’s frontier.

And there lay stretched out the penitential
Naimisa forest, the home
of Sages from immemorial times
and seat of Sacrifices.

1 50 Sitayana

What mysterious and compelling lure
drew these denizens of Light
from the city’s manifold attractions

to the ardours of the woods? 495

Perhaps the inner continents of Light
far transcended the outer,
and the taste of Infinity rendered
all else quite nugatory. 496

But for Sita, her Lord, and Saumitri,
while the uncharted Unknown
threw its tentacles of fascination,

an inner unease remained. 497

The travellers felt sad they were leaving
Ayodhya with its river,

Sarayu, the Kosala countryside

and the whole Kingdom behind. 498

“O gem among cities!" Rama exclaimed;

‘i must now take leave of you,
but when my vow is fulfilled. Til return
for the joy of reunion.

Ah kindly sincere rural folk ! your love
is sefless and beyond praise:
go back to your homes. I’ll surely return
and find joy in your welfare.’’

And now the chariot hastened towards
the benevolent Ganga
and the riverside spotted with arbours,

Ashramas and pleasure-haunts.

The view of the Ganga opened vistas
of the racial memory,

and past and present, and all the three worlds,
merged in the revelation. 502

A river with mythic antecedents
interwoven with the lives
of gods, Gandharvas, Asuras and men,

Ganga was herself divine. 503

She was like the perennial feminine,
the foam her white teeth and smile,
the winding course her braid of hair, the peal
of waters her loud laughter:

499

500

501

504

151 Journey to Chitrakuta

and chameleonic her varied moods,
her flow, now like music sweet,
anon like a tempest, and again like
the ineffable sublime:

dark and miry here, and crystalline there,
holy, fair and glamorous,
the favoured of lotuses, swans and cranes,
the sinless and jewelled one !

On Rama’s suggestion, they decided
to rest under a huge tree
rear the banks of the river, and indeed
it was a delightful place.

They were now met with due ceremony
by Guha the hunter-chief
of Sringiberapuram, by which name
the entire region was known.

They were tested friends, Rama and Guha,
and the chieTtain offered choice
hospitality to his royal guests,
though Rama suavely declined :

they were to live, he said, like ascetics
and subsist on fruits and roots;
but the heart’s welcome Guha had given
was richer than the richest,

Guha understood, and helped Lakshniana
the whole night to keep guard o'er
Rama and Sita as they took their rest
under the ingudi tree.

When they were maintaining their long vigil,
Lakshmana spoke to Guha
o6 the sorrows unleashed in Ayodhya
by Kaikeyi’s wickedness;

the eerie silence that might be reigning
in Dasaratha’s mansion;
the fear of a chain of catastrophes
and the hope of saviour Grace.

Saumitri’s doleful tale of possible
misfortur ;s disturbed Guha
and forced torrents from his eyes, for he loved
Rama’s noble family.

1 32 Sitayana

The anguished vigil ended with the dawn,
and as desired by Rama,

Guha made arrangements for the crossing
of the Ganga by a boat.

“We’re bound in kinship bonds,” Rama declared;

“we were four brothers before,
you’re now the fifth, as dear as Bharata,
Lakshmana or Satrughna.”

While now their bows, shafts and other baggage
were being loaded, Rama
asked Sumantra to return, and report
everything to his Master.

Sumantra was disconsolate and wished
to go with the travellers,
but Rama persuasively advised him
to get back soon to the King.

Rama sent special messages besides
to Kausalya and the King,
and to Bharata too requesting him
to treat all three mothers well.

Then Rama secured the banyan’s milk-sap
and matted his locks, and so
did Lakshmana, and they took the proper
vows and now looked like Rishis.

Sita first, then Lakshmana and Rama,
boarded the boat, and the chief
helmsman paddled as the travellers waved
to Guha and Sumantra.

While the brothers made their salutations
to Mother Ganga, Sita
joined her hands in prayer as the splendid
boat was approaching midstream :

“Mother Ganga, Goddess Bhagirathi,
may we fulfil our vows, and
return safely after fourteen years, and
worship you in proper form.

Mother Ganga, Goddess of the three Worlds,
help this tiger among men,

Rama, to regain his Kingdom; and I’ll
gratefully propitiate you.

1 53 Journey to Chitrakuta

Mother Ganga, Consort of the Ocean,
may the mighty Raghava
return blameless with us to Ayodhya,
and I’ll worship you always.” 525

By now the boat had reached the southern bank,
and getting down, they trekked on,

Saumitri first, Sita next, Rama last,
savouring of forest life. 526

It was uneven country, and Sita
had a taste of the hardships
of forest life, but she was undaunted
and was game for everything. 527

Soon they passed through the prosperous Vatsa
country with its abundant
vegetation, and rested for the night
imder a great woodland tree. 528

Seized by -ruoc^en depression, Rama mourned
his bitter faje, imagined
the worst of Kaikeyi and the King, and

asked Lakshmana to return. 529

Saumitri’s soothing and sustaining touch
cooled the fire of Rama’s grief,
and tender brotherly solicitude

brought back his natural poise. 530

After some hours of sleep, they were awake
at dawn to resume their walk
and make for Prayag where the Ganga meets
the opulent Yamuna.

They saw smoke a little ahead, and knew
they were near Bharadvaja’s
Ashrama, and reaching it soon enough,

‘made obeisance to the Sage.

The Rishi didn’t need the antecedents
of his guests to be retailed,
and extended a spontaneous welcome
to the royal visitors.

The Ashrama was a home for them all,
he said, for the exile-years;
but Rama wished to be beyond the reach
of Ayodhya’s citizens

531

532

533

534

154 Sit ay ana

535

536

537

538

There Lakshmana made a raft with bamboos,
tree-branches and rattan stalks ;
carrying Sita, Rama boarded it,
and his brother followed too. 539

Sita prayed again, now to Yamuna:

“Help us to cross your waters
and fulfil our vows; I’ll propitiate you
heartily when I return.”

It was a safe crossing, and they stepped on
the well wooded southern shore,
and approaching the gorgeous banyan tree
they sought its beneficence.

And coming close, Vaidehi prayed joining
her palms: “O great Tree, help us
fulfil our vows, and see dear Kausalya
and Sumitra once again.” 542

In a line they walked, Saumitri leading,
then Sita, and Rama last;
and when fruit or flower caught her fancy,

Lakshmana gratified her. 543

The green-leLved trees, the cool streams, the loud cries
of the swans, crows and peacocks,
the wandering monkeys and elephants,
all delighted Maithili.

540

541

Then the Rishi mentioned Chitrakuta,
quite a jewel of a place,
a holy hill a short walk to the West
and across the Yamuna.

Having been hospitably entertained,
they had a night’s needed rest,
and at dawn took leave of Bharadvaja
and left for Chitrakuta.

Blessing them as they left, the Rishi said:

“Rich in friendly birds and beasts,
fruits and honey, you’ll find Chitrakuta
native to good thoughts and deeds.”

Rama, Sita and Saumitri, taking
their baggage, first walked westward
along the Yamuna till they arrived
at the well-worn crossing place.

544

Canto 20: Bharata

The travellers, after a good night’s sleep
on the river-bank, resumed
their journey at dawn, and passed trees weighted
with fruits or rich honycombs.

Reaching the Chitrakuta Hill at last
with its native opulence,

Rama asked Saumitri to gather logs
cind erect their lodging there.

It was a strong cottage Lakshmana built,
mud-walled, leaf-covered, rain-proof,
well-ventilated, the materials
all garnered from the hillside.

Vaidehi wa- d^'hghted, and Rama
complimented his brother,
and they all bathed and worsnipped, as prescribed,
their tutelary deities.

No mansion but <nly a mode.st hut,
it had a concord of parts
that served the main purposes of a Home,
and merged with the surroundings.

Backgrounded by the hill and the river
Mandakini, befriended
by a fraternity of birds and beasts,
the exiles found peace and joy.

In the weeks that followed, the royal three
from Ayodhya discovered
in their mountain retreat all the facets
of a heaven upon earth.

They needed nothing, flora and fauna
hummed with a luxurious
magnificence, the whole region was rich
with mango, apple, jack-fruit;

herds of animals, regiments of birds,
moved about or flew in bright
formations, but caused no embarra.ssment,
nor warred with one another;

1 56 Sitayana

the mountain-crests flashed forth phosphorescent
lights from the imprisoned ores,
and flowers a million from hidden caves
wafted their blended perfumes.

Maithili roamed the hillside with Rama,
and Lakshmana followed them;
and they oft visited the ascetics
whose Ashramas lay scattered.

Some weeks after they had settled down there,
Rama wandered with Sita
braced by the morning air, and having reached
a mountain-height, spoke these words;

“It’s lucky we’ve left the city and come
to these gorgeous surroundings
so conducive to the contemplation
that opens to the Real.

We have seen these last few days and weeks how
through Nature’s adoration
the Divine Omnipresence can be felt,
and this means beatitude.

Panoramic Nature, ever changing
and yet quintessentially
the same always, becomes for us exiles
a wonderful gift of Grace.

This Hill of Revelation with its frame,
form, contours, colours, eyes, sounds,
high-peaks, majestic columns, flowing robes :
don’t we glimpse the God we seek?

Indeed, Sita, don’t we And in this life
a native felicity

that, for all its luxury and splendour,
we quite missed in Ayodhya?

And yet a Prince has the obligations
appropriate to his class :
the warrior code, the imperatives
of the Kshatriya’s Dharma.

Perhaps, O Maithili, when our fourteen
years are spent, we will go b^k
armed with the gains of this rare adventure,
and make successful rulers.”

1 57 Bharata

Sita nodded and smiled though not ready
to rationalise like him;
but equally and transcendentally
happy, she found the apt words :

“I told you, Rama, I would be at home
in the wet, wildness, wonder
and abundance of the woods, and so far
I have enjoyed everything.

Every hour of the day has its own sights,
and every hour of the night
its .variegated luminiscences
and muted revelations.

O Kakutstha, I’ve been happy because
I’ve been with you, and you’ve been
happy; and Saiunitri has been happy
lost in the Joy of service.

Who can Rama, which occasions which —
does the peace wdhin invade
the outer air, or does the joy without
find resonance in the heart?”

Now they made sne descent to the plain where
Mandakini flowed with ease,
and Rama, waxing poetic, enlarged
upon the river’s beauties :

the opulence of swans and cranes, the wealth
of trees burdened with flowers
and choicest fruits, the busy bathing ghats
and the crowding ascetics.

For Rama, the mountain was Ayodhya,
the river was Sarayu,
the dwellers essaying co-existence
were the happy citizens!

Bathing thrice a day and subsisting on
fruits, roots and honeys Rama
could — he told Vaidehi — almost forget
the Kingdom of Kosala.

They were now partaking of their modest
meal when Rama heard a din
in the far distance, and saw clouds of dust
on the northern horizon.

1 58 Sitayana

Calling Lakshmana instantly, Rama
told him briefly what he saw
and asked him to investigate the cause
of the seeming commotion.

Climbing a tall pine tree, Saumitri saw
an army moving southward,
and on closer scrutiny concluded
it was Bharata himself.

Reporting to Rama, Lakshmana said,
his eyes blazing with anger,
that Bharata’s men were marching indeed
with an evil intention :

“I can’t mistake his banner; Bharata
is coming to kill us all;
let Vaidehi withdraw into the hut —
we’ll be ready duly armed.”

Rama who had a clearer grasp of things
promptly extinguished the fire
in Lakshmana’s mind and heart, and gently
opened his eyes to the truth :

“Why do you canter to the conclusion
he is coming to kill us?

And is being ready to kill him first
the best or only answer?

1 know, Bharata, he’s not ambitious,
and he loves us both dearly:
cast aside this causeless anger against
the innocent Bharata.

And let me tell you this ; while in all things
God has mixed good and evil,

Bharata is the sole exception, for
he’s goodness, and nothing else.

Summoned to Ayodhya, he must have seen
Kaikeyi’s grim handiwork,
and rejecting the crown, he has perhaps
come to offer it to me.”

Rather abashed, Lakshmana timidly
suggested that it could be
Dasaratha himself come in full force
to meet the hapless exiles.

1 59 Bharata

Rama answered: “It could be that, of course,
but we don’t see the great King’s
white umbrella ! Patience, and let’s await

the unfoldment of events.” 584

Lakshmana got down from the tree and joined
Rama and Sita, and from
their hut they had a view of the hillside
and Mandakini below. 585

They could see the four-fold constituents
of Dasaratha’s army
trying to find suitable camping sites,
and causing much confusion. 586

The tense minutes passed as the royal three,
now self-determined exiles,
sat in sheer silence and selfconsciousness,

and watched the movements below, 587

•

There Wds a rustle, the tread of walking,
the rumble of blurred voices,
the approaching rhythm of the footfalls,
the near feel of the people. 588

All the while a hre burned at the altar
centred in Rama’s cottage,
and the lambent tongues of flame gave added
lustre to the gazing eyes. 589

Bharata was scaling the steps slowly,
and it was almost as though
a river was forcing itself backward
reversing a settled flow. 590

And suddenly there he was before them,
and sparked by recognition
be sprang towards his dear elder brother
in delight and misery. 591

“Arya!” he cried in his profound distress,

“you suffer these piivations
because of me and my foolish mother —

I’ve become Time’s theme of scorn!” 592

This wasn't the Bharata he knew before
but one pale and grief-stricken,
with matted locks like an ascetic, and
attired in bark and deer-skin.

593

160 Sitayana

As Rama held his beloved brother
in a strong embrace, he saw —
in a blurred background — Guha the chieftain,

Sumantra, and Satrughna. 594

It was a touching reunion, but when
Rama asked about the King,

Bharata stunned the exiles with the fell
news of Dasaratha's death: 595

“When I was away at Rajagriha
and you had left Ayodhya,
our noble father, bewailing your loss,
died a broken-hearted man.” 596

Rama swooned hearing the news, and Sita
and Lakshmana reeled under
the tragedy, and the bereaved offered
mutual consolations. 597

Then the brothers, followed by Maithili,
went down to Mandakini,
and Raghava and Saumitri offered
libations to their great Sire: 598

“May this water abide with you. Father,
in the great world of the manes;
may these crushed seeds abide with you. Father,
in the great world of the manes!” 599

By the time Rama, Lakshmana, Sita —
having done the obsequies —
returned to their hut, Vasishta was there
along with the Queen Mothers. 600

The calculated bareness of the place,
the signs of austerity

on Rama’s, Sita’s, Lakshmana’s faces, .

all moved Kausalya to tears. 601

•

And her own pale face furrowed with anguish
and her faded majesty
made her seem a ghost of her former self,

and they felt somehow guilty. 602

Sita too, melting with pity and love,
touched the feet of Kadsalya
and Sumitra, who 'o^k her in their arms
and spoke kind consoling words.

603

161 Bharata

Kaikeyi, who came with the others, was
aloof and inscrutable,
perhaps gnawed by an inner sense of guilt
or too proud to feel remorse.

There were now gathered before Rama’s hut
some of Ayodhya’s elect,
the preceptors, the senior ministers,
and tribunes of the people;

and numerous uncommon commoners,
men and women whose faces
were wet with tears amply filled the background ;
and Rama welcomed them all.

Breaking the silence of fear and surmise,
he queried Bharata why
he had left the Kingdom he was to rule
and donned an ascetic’s garb.

Bharata replied: ‘I was no party
to my mother’s demanding
the crown on my behalf, or our father’s
consenting under duress.

My mother s asking for your exile was
a worse crime still, and she will
certainly fall into the worst of hells ;
and now the King is no more.

Ayodhya wants to annul the double
injustice, and we’ve come here
to beseech you with one voice to return
and rule over us as King.”

After a pause, Rama said: '‘Bharata,
best of brothers, knowing well,
a5 we do. Father was bound by his word,
hojv may we go against it?

It’s no question of what we like or don’t.

Truth is not negotiable;

when all things pass and change, Dharma alone
points the way to sanity.

Our notions of fairness and wickedness
are subjects e formations,
but as Dharma transcends all mutations,
let’s redeem our Father’s word.”

162 Sitayana

Thus did an irresistible Force meet
an immovable object :
the two contenders were evenly matched,
and hushed were the beholders. 614

When Rishi Jabali made a plea for
hedonism as the true
virtue, Rama dismissed the sophistry
and snubbed the man’s presumption. 615

Canto 2 i ; Rama on Raja Dharma

Now the sage, Vasishta, traced the hoary
Line of the Ikshvaku Kings
and proved that, always, the eldest alone
had inherited the crown.

But vain were the appeals to precedents,
vain the reckless if well-meant
sophistries of Rishi Jabali, and
vain too were Bharata’s pleas.

Nay, even his final threat of fasting
unto death had no effect,
and Rama, distressed but quite unruffled,
spoke to Bharata again :

"Whethei we ;ike it or not, Bharata,
what we do today will set
the right pattern of public behaviour
for all the ages to come.

It’s the role of I'le House of the Raghus
by D'vine dispensation
to act rightly, casting aside notions
of preference and profit.

You and I, Bharata, lack the wisdom
that comes from experience;
we haven't the scars of the wounds of life
the taste of the tears in things.

Situations in life can develop
unexpectedly, and we
needs must react at once, guided only

by Dharma’s imperatives.

•

Hadn’t we in King Dasaratha the best
and noblest of fathers, and
in Kaikeyi the fondest of mothers?

Yet mark the present tangle!

There’s no rational way of explaining
this reversa' in affairs,
for things are happening in defiance
of human expectations.

164 Sitayana

I was to have been installed Vicegerent
with the Assembly’s assent,
but since there’s this earlier covenant,
it’s not for us to wrangle.

The Royal word was given long ago,
a gesture of gratitude;
when the time comes for it to be redeemed,
there can be no resiling.

Now if we raised collateral issues,
my right as the eldest son,
your reluctance bom of your love for me,
the perils of forest life,

the remorse and death of the aged King,
or the great surge of feeling
among the people, we shall miss the clue
to right thinking and action.

Dharma’s commandments hold good for all time,
and rise above personal
predilections, local cirsumstances
or sectional interests.

Mother Kaikeyi desired that the boons
be made good, and you and I
can together uphold the moral law
and redeem our Father’s word.

In all ages and climes people can see
the strident finality

of what we are doing, for this transcends
the stirrings of heart or mind.

But once, Bharata, you start questioning
the bases, the very Ground,
of Dharma, there’ll be cracks all round, and this
our solid Earth will crumble.

We’re here in this world for a little while,
and we have to play a part
worthy of our Kakutstha heritage
and commitment to Dharma.

I knew what it could mean, this journeying
through the woods; but I don’t know
what is yet to happen to us during
the still unspent stretch of years.

165 Rama on Raja Dharma

Added to the initial requirement,
here is Maithili braving
the uncertainties of Dandaka life,
and here’s Lakshmana as well.

635

When Sita cited the right and duty
of the consecrated wife,
sahadharmini, to share her Lord’s life,
once more I was Dharma-bound.

636

And Lakshmana pleaded his native right
of brotherly devotion,
ard he has come too, my alter ego^
our vigilant serviteur.

637

But don’t you see, Bharata, in nothing
do we have complete control :
our strategies are all thrown out of gear,
and only chagrin is left.

638

Whether these changes and complications
are but raildom intrusions,
or whether they’re part of the larger good,

‘tis beyond our human ken.

639

There may be times when the hapless agent
is caught between opposing
pulls, of conscience, a Dharmic dilemma,
two balancing compulsions.

640

In such a predicament, either way
may mean suffering, both ways
may be valid, yet one must make a choice
and bear the consequences.

641

But, Bharata, no such ambivalence
afflicts us now, for the choice
k between my private good and comfort

and a public moral stance.

•

642

I’ve thought it over long and anxiously,
and this alone seems proper ;
poised between rival pulls, let’s sacrifice
the private for the public.

643

You may say there’s the will of the people,

Ayodhya h is come with you,
and wants me back ! But questions of Dharma
aren’t decided by numbers.

644

166 Sitayana

Bharata, the commandments of Dharma,
like Nature’s Laws, admit of
no meddling, and the people’s voice or will
is a very fickle thing.

Rumour-mongers and bold rabble-rousers
could exploit prejudices,
make the baser impulses the nobler
and engineer confusion.

Once we stray, Bharata, from the Kingsway
of Dharma’s eternal laws,
we’ll be soon entrapped in a worse jungle
than the darkest Dandaka.

When Dhanua’s imperatives determine
legitimacy, and say,

This is right, and thus must you act !’, it’s wrong
to look round for escape routes.

Private hurt, a wife’s pleading, a mother’s
tear-stained face, kinsmen’s dolour,
the people’s clamour or demonstration —
nothing can alter the Law.

Once during my brief but memorable
travels with Visvamitra,
he let me see in a synoptic spell
the future as it might be.

Beyonding distances in time, I saw
humankind growing native
to craven fear, mere animality
and gross manipulation.

People lured by power, its blandishments,
cease to be the tenements
of the soul, and become commodities
for ready sale or barter.

Were the reign of Dharma to suffer such
obscuration, perversion,
negation; if men in authority
turned out to be unrighteous;

should even the Princes of the land fail
to sustain the moral Law :
what could you for but the certain crash
of the social edifice I

167 Rama on Raja Dharma

All power, Bharata, is like poison:

when it came as the first gift
of the churning of the ocean, Shiva
quaffed and stayed it in his throat.

655

Thus we need the sovereign Grace of the Lord,
both to exercise power
and be immune from its deadly poison
always, then. Power and Graced

656

In our total submission to Dharma,
there’s the sure promise of Grace;
bu" those that rely on Power alone
must perish by its poison.

657

Gifted for a while with the great Rishi’s
claii voyant vision, 1 saw
how, denying the adamantine Laws,

men cantered towards their doom.

•

658

Like a race possessed by evil spirits,
the ambitious human might
engage in the mad pursuit of Power
totally divorced ^rom Grace.

659

Father against soji, brother and brother
torn apart, son befouling
the fcvmily hearth — each unto himself,
the Devil for one and all!

660

I shuddered at the grim sight of the freaks
that schemed against their fathers,
accomplishing the last atrocity,
regicide and parricide.

661

I saw brother’s hand raised against brother
decreeing a bleak desert
where all consanguinity was wiped out,
ai\d the sole survivor ruled!

662

And, as in the eeriest of nightmares,

I saw ingenuities

of torture, hell-made engines of terror,
and stark inhumanities.

663

To eliminate current rivalry
and ensure mture safety
a thousand villainies could be unleashed
and infernos enacted.

664

168 Sitayana

In their mad lust for instant victory
I saw crazed men foul the air,
playact the Asura in God’s disguise
and bring order crashing down.

And women too, gentle, fashioned fair and
born for love and motherhood,
gifted with compassion and sufferance,
might go the way of the males.

Once the narrow yet safe razor-edged path
has been thoughtlessly exchanged
for the wildernesses on either side,
perils a thousand assail,

the native disciplined habits permit
impairment and distortion,
and be the battle lost or won, the soul
finds its glassy essence gone.

No more kinship, friendship or fellowship,
no more blood-ties, or duty,
no more restraint, or human decen.:y —
the moment’s hunger is all.

When we follow the dictates of Dharma,
we’re buttressed by the sanction
of all the millennial past ages
and their collective wisdom.

But where the action concerns our own weal
(or what we so apprehend),
the mind intervenes with its reasoning
and the heart sways as it likes.

For every ordained right course of action,
the ego, given a chance,
can offer a hundred or more options
each with its show of reason.

Or advisers, well-wishers, advocates,
a rally of sycophants,
a bunch of astrologers, soothsayers,
may all converge upon you.

•’ll

It’s not difficult to say pleasing things,
or cite sundry precedents
from far past times, or press the argument
that the worse is the better.

1 69 Rama on Raja Dharma

You may be exhorted to disobey
the ageless great commandments
on the naive plea that the general good
demands such dereliction.

I shuddered when Visvamitra opened
my stunned unbelieving eyes
to such grim scenarios of horror
as yet hid in the future.

Eliminate your rivals, terrorise
the dazed citizenry, and
mobilise the ready mercenaries
to manufacture applause!

The human mind, unless held in fetters
to a firm Code of Ethics,
will smartly improvise variations

of villainy or folly.

•

The unbruiled ego can go beserk
in a permissive climate,
assume the God but enact the Devil
in his dogged falsity.

Let’s keep, Bharata, to the royal road,
the tested path of Dharma,
and be it long or short, smooth or sharp-edged,
we’ll surely arrive at last.

But should we fail in vigilance supreme
and let sloth or slumber take
o’er the body’s natural functioning,
the Commonwealth must collapse.

Conscience grown cowardly, calculation
lost in the weights and measures
o£ the mart, the soul forever mortgaged

to the Lord of all Falsehoods:

•

with the blind, the mindless and the corrupt
whirling round the piickly pear,
performing the foulest flamboyances
and the worst desecrations ;

and panting still, and mad and maddening,
profaning all sacredness,
goodness, humanness, the Sons of Darkness
might one day o’errun the Earth.

170 Sitayana

You do not know, Bharata, the limits
to which man’s iniquity
can go when it supinely surrenders
to the obsessionist pulls.

There’s the age-long admonition against
the triad of appetites,
the vital, material, sensual:
it thunders in our ears still.

And it’s the nature of these appetites
that they feed upon themselves,
or on one another, thus worsening
the sickness of society.

Just imagine, Bharata, an entire
population opting for
the sordid habiliments of Power,
yet wholly bereft of Grace!

When the Princes fail in their adhesion
to the eternal Edicts,
then the multitude will seize all power
and run amuck with its taste.

All things are valid: conscience, a coward;

loyalty and gratitude,
superstitions; morals, irrelevant;
the common good, but who cares?

O Bharata, when this terrible curse.

Power unleavened by Grace,
seizes a people, all aberrations
will gain legitimacy,

A Kingdom or a City or Commune
sold over to the random
impulses, the wild and wayward fancies,
of the mob and its leaders,

but quite divorced from the rule of Dharma,
the overlordship of God,
must needs develop scissions of all sorts,
and invite dissolution.

Should you opi out of the City of God
or sovereignty of Dharma,
what looms ahead is no fancied Dreamland,
only Society’s demise!

171 Rama on Raja Dharma

Let’s then be humble enough, Bharata,
to accept the verities,
bow to our filial obligations
and wait on coming events.”

695

Rama ceased, and although he seemed to feel
exhausted by the effort,
the words carried their own finality
and commanded acceptance.

696

Now the venerable Sage Vasishta
communed within for a while
an^l relieved the residual tension
with a gracious compromise.

697

Thus was Rama persuaded to give
his gold-emblazoned sandals
as the twy-symbol of his sovereignty;
and Bharata received them.

698

•

with due Jettn^nce, love and submission,
and promised to mle over

Kosala for fourteen years, but only
as Agent of the true King.

699

They would be tne two hands that together
perform good deeds, the two gates
of protection, the twin eyes of wisdom
sustaining a religion.

700

Even so was the warmly debated
issue happily resolved,
and this was greeted with immense relief
by everybody present.

701

Canto 22: Sita and Sratakirti

While Rama, Bharata and Vasishta
sat apart to finalise
the details of the concordat, the rest
moved about to meet and talk.

Lakshmana had much to tell Kausalya,

Sumitra and Satrughna;
and Guha and Stunantra waxed about
Bharata’s integrity.

Seizing her chance, Srutakirti (who had
come with the three Queen Mothers)
took Sita aside, and recalled what had
happened in the interim :

“You wouldn’t believe it, Sita, but it’s true —
when you three left the City,
there was a universal cessation
of normal activity.

The fire-rites were suspended; elephants
declined all food; cows repulsed
their calves; shops pulled down their shutters; sullen
silence reigned o’er Ayodhya.

Signifying a monstrous reversal
of the natural order,

the very elements — wind, fire, rain, sky —
seemed to fail in their function.

The gardens seemed to smile no more, the birds
had no feeling for flying
or chirping, flowers seemed to wilt, and trees
to wither and shed their leaves.

The inner family relationships
and loyalties were under
a terrible strain, and all thought only
of the fleeing chariot.

There was gloom in Ayodhya’s streets and homes,
and people were panicky
that Kaikeyi’s rule would be unrighteous
and life would be a torture.

1 73 Sita and Srutakirti

Having rejected Kaikeyi, the King
retired to Kausalya’s rooms
and there ate his heart out thinking, talking,
of Rama and the exiles. 71 1

And when stricken Kausalya broke down too,

Sumitra spoke soothing words
arising from the Spirit’s depths and charged
with great persuasive power. 712

‘Rama carries with him,’ Sumitra said,

‘the invincible’s birth-mark ;

Lak^hmana is his armour, and Sita
their grace of glory Divine.’ 713

When Sumantra returned, having seen you
cross the Ganga and make for
the forest, he spoke ecstatically

about, you to Kausalya. 714

‘Sita, indeed, is m her element,’

Sumantra remarked; ‘she shows
no fear, no strain on her faith in Rama;
she’s the Goddess; of the woods! 715

She couldn’t be more happy in Ayodhya’s
mansions, arbours and gardens
than she is in the grim wildernesses
or the penitential woods. 716

The day’s exertions don’t seem to tire her,
her countenance is aflame
lit by the inner light, and she’s immune

to fatigue, strong winds, or thorns. 717

She wears ornaments as before, and when
she walks, her bare feet dazzle
like red lotus as if she is dancing
to her anklet-bells’ music. 718

But, of course, the clue to her happiness
lies in her love of Rama;
it’s the great mystique of identity,
for Sita- Rama are one. 719

With Rama’s puissant and protective arm
around her, she has no fear
when encountering forest-elephant,
leopard, lion or tiger.’

720

174 Sitayana

You cannot imagine how delighted
and proud we three sisters were,
but although Sumitra seemed satisfied,

Kausalya was distraught still. 721

When Sumantra conveyed to her the good
news of her son’s well-being;
and to the King, Rama’s respectful love,
and Lakshmana’s resentment : 722

Kausalya in a weak moment assailed
the King with accusations,
and he writhed anew with self-abasement

and self-wrought lacerations. 723

Now he remembered a sin of past times,
the accidental killing
of a blind anchorite’s son, and the curse

that the foul deed had provoked. 724

Exhausted by the confessional tale,
the King drifted to slumber
and life left him in the course of the night,
and sorrow o’erwhelmed us all. 725

Kausalya, reeling under the fresh blow,
cried: The King’s gone, and 1 live;
indeed, my heart must be far stonier
than a hundred thunderbolts!’ 726

Vasishta and the Elders in Council
sent for Bharata at once,
but on his coming, he declined the crown,
and raved against his mother: 727

This was how you’d raise me high! Would you nurse
a tree by severing it

from its roots? Didn’t you know Sita-Rama
are the base of my being? 728

and the life of my living, like water
for the fish? Thoughtless woman!

Why didn’t your hard heart break into fragments

when you made your fell demands? 729

Did you really think that I would accept
this ill-gotten prize? 1 don’t
want people to say, He’s Kaikeyi’s son,
and therefore, greedy, grasping!

730

1 75 Si fa and Srutakirti

Since ever I learnt to feel, think and pray,
it has been my sole desire
that people should say, He’s Rama’s brother,
after all, centered in him !’ 731

Then, after the obsequies to the King,

Bharata resolved that all
Ayodhya with one voice should beg Rama
to accept the royal crown.

Sita, Sita, those were exciting weeks,
sorrow doubled with wonder,
tragedy somehow transforming itself
into the purest sublime!”

A pause in the breathless recital gave
Sita the chance to inquire
about Urmila and Mandavi — and
of Nfanth:^^^ the crookback.

‘T was going to tcIi you everything,”
gushed Srutakirti; “you know
Urmila, she divides her time between
deep sleep and colour painting.

1 think her third eye sees all that you do,
for — would you believe it? she
has painted this Hill, and all this landscape,
and even this hermitage! 736

Mandavi was anxious and high-strung till
Bharata came, but he soared
to the highest heavens by rejecting

both Kaikeyi and the crown. 737

Then Janaka and Sunayana came
, hearing of Dasaratha’s
demise, and there was this mighty debate

regarding the succession. 738

Sunayana had a prolonged meeting
with Kausalya, Sumitra;
and she learnt all, while the bereaved Queens had

the much needed healing touch. 739

Janaka applauded Rama’s action
honouring his father’s word,
and praised still more Bharata’s heroic
act of renunciation.

732

733

734

735

740

1 76 Sitayana

And then Sita, Uncle was proud of you,
and sent through me his blessing;

‘Sita, my child, unique indeed your feat
of faith, courage, loyalty.

Your fame will be sung for all time to come,
and its cleansing, redeeming
and sanctifying power will exceed
the gloried Mother Ganga's;

the divine Bhagirathi purifies
the places she passes by —

Haridwar, Prayag, Kashi — but your name
will redeem all human hearts!"'

Sita had a tremor of happiness
and humility, and tears

mingled with her smiles, and quite embarrassed,
she asked about the hunchback.

“As for that beauty,” Srutakirti said,

“she sported her finery
and strutted about like a tipsy ape
insulting other women.

But my dear Satrughna, true to his name,
taught the creature the lesson
she needed, and left her in a shambles
with her jewellery scattered.

Oh, she yelled, and clawed the air, and bellowed
distractedly, and it was
Bharata coming just then that rescued
her, and let her go in peace.

Now Sita, we seldom see the humpback,
and Kaikeyi herself keeps
aloof — you’ve seen her tod^’y, it’s as though
something has jangled her life.

And I mustn’t forget to tell you, Sita,
your dear parrot is thriving;

Mandavi has taken care of it too,
and has an eye for all things.

This was why she had to be left behind :

she looks after L'rtoila,
all the Queen’s apartments, and a thousand
things besides — she’s marvellous!”

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

• 748

749

750

1 77 Sila and Srutakirti

With great relish, she almost lived again
the journey from Ayodhya
to Chitrakuta: “An entire city
moving, marching, arriving!

What an extraordinary Caravan :

the splendid Army, of course,
and all the gentry, priesthood and merchants —
jewellers, potters, brewers.

And at Sringiberapuram, Cuba
first suspected, then welcomed
Bharata, and told us all about you —
what you did, and where you slept.

Having ferried us across the Ganga,
he joined us, and when we reached
Sage Bharadvaja’s Ashrama, he too
first suspected Bharata!

But sobn be Icriew the utter purity
and peerless nobility
of Bharata’s*motives, and advised him
to make for Chitrakuta.

And so we’re her , Sua, and I’m happy
at the outcome of the trip,
and fourteen years will fly like winged thoughts,
and you will be back with us !’’

Meanwhile Bharata’s vast retinue had
got ready for the return,
and obeisances, leave-takings, blessings,
goodbyes charged the mountain air.

Both Kausalya and Sumitra embraced
the children they were to leave
behind, and these three offered obeisance
to their mothers and elders.

Bharata’s face shone with serenity
as he said: “O Kakutstha,
only for the rest of the fourteen years,
and not a minute longer.

If you do not return and relieve me
of the weight of royalty
at the appropriate time. I’ll indeed
opt for self-immolation.

178 Sitayana

ril submit problems of State and render
my accounts to the Sandals;

I’ll administer the realm in your name,
and rely on your backing.

While acting as Agent of these Sandals,

I'll live in Nandigrama
outside Ayodhya, and I’ll be attired
and live like an achorite.”

Rama warmly embraced Bharata and
Satrughna; paid obeisance
to Vasishta; and Sita, Lakshmana
touched the feet of their elders.

And when Bharata, placing the Sandals
on his head reverently,
led the returning host, Rama, Sita
and Lakshmana stood watching.

They saw the descending line disappear
below the Hill, then went back
to the cottage, and gave vent to their tears;
Nature would assert itself!

BQOKL THR^FiE

Canto 23 : Atri and Anasuya

Fourteen had seemed a frightful span of Time
and each year such a desert
of the pitiless stretch of days, weeks, months;
fourteen years in the heyday 1

of Life’s spring with its credit of freshness,
the soft shoots and sticky leaves,
the warm Sun hastening the blossoming
aiid the promise of fruition. 2

The mere thought of forest life had evoked
vague perspectives of terror,
the whole alphabet of wildness and wet,
and the uncharted Unknown. 3

But Old Tir*’.!.. hwd no taste for tarrying,
and whirled the world with himself ;
and entrances and exits would account
for the fleeting hours and years. 4

For some weeks since Bharata’s departure
with his retinue, Rama
remained with Maithili and Lakshmana
in his Chitrakuta hut. 5

But they found that life was not quite the same
as before, for memories
of noble Bharata’s visit lingered
and bred unending remorse. 6

Ah here Kausalya sat like sufferance,
and here Sumitra, wisdom
incarnate; and here the hoary High Priests.

Vasishta, Vamadeva. 7

The ’distinctive Bharata ambience
and the Satrughna presence
seemed to fill the familiar mountain air
with an o’erpowering force. 8

And Sita still heard the echoing buzz
of Srutakirti’s chatter
recalling happenings in Ayodhya
since the long exile began.

9

182 Sitayana

Besides, Rama became increasingly
aware of uneasiness,
even panic, among the ascetics
living on Chitrakuta.

They moved about furtively and in groups
as though pursued by phantoms;
and making obeisance to their Leader,
Rama respectfully asked:

“What’s the reason for your uneasiness?

Have I, or my brother, or
my wife, offended you unknowingly?

Why all this fear and panic?”

That sage and venerable elder said :

“It’s unthinkable, Rama,
that Sita, the icon of perfection,
should slight us even in dream.

As for you and Saumitri, your brother,
your presence has come to mean
protection for us, and provocation
to the Rakshasas around.

Khara the Janasthana cannibal
has orders from Ravana,
his brother, to expel the ascetics
from the Dandaka forest.

We receive much harrassment from Khara
and his myrmidons, our hearths
are polluted, our rites desecrated,
our oblations fouled and soured.

We’ve decided to move to a safer
sanctuary not far off,

and you may come with us too — for truly
you’re their ultimate target.

Certainly, Rama, it would be prudent
to leave this endangered place
and look for a less exposed settlement
where Sita can feel secure.”

Although Raghuva didn’t quite understand
their almost precipitate
departure, the resulting loneliness
on the Hill was oppressive.

183 A tri and Anasuya

Rama also felt, after Bharata’s
visit, that Chitrakuta
was far too easily accessible
to Ayodhya’s citizens.

And the camping by Bharata’s army —
the chariots, elephants,
horses, infantry — had left its mark on
the Hill and its environs.

Rama decided, for all these reasons,
to move southward, and when they
reached Sage Atri’s Ashrama before long
all chree were warmly received.

Atri and his spouse Anasuya had
a legendary renown
for their purity and austerity
and mythical sanctity.

Their hermita^v <tood quite isolated,
rather delicately poised
between civilised life and the darkness
of the forest hinterland.

Even as a child, Sit'’ nad been thrilled
by the stories of Atri’s
askesis and Sati Anasuya’s
feats.of miraculism.

As the visitors rendered obeisance,
the Rishi gave a Father’s
welcome to his children, and introduced
his own wife to Maithili :

“This is Anasuya the Unjealous
known for her austerities,
her feats of benevolence, and total
adhesion to righteousness.”

As advised by the Rishi and Rama
himself, Vaidehi approached
Anasuya with reverence and love
and paid obeisance to her.

How frail and feeble the aged woman
ascetic, her skin wrinkled,
her tresses white and her body shaken
like a plantain in the wind!

!84 Sitayam

For Sita, ‘twas a moment of supreme
fulfilment, for how often
as a growing child she hadn’t reverenced
this holy Anasuya!

“O blessed one!” she said delightedly;

“Exemplum of the true wife!
how fortunate I am to have darshan
of your ambrosial Presence!

I have heard of your miraculous feats ;

the power of your tapas
has turned drought into plenty, the desert
into a flowing river.

We’ve heard it said that, with yom askesis,
you have furthered the tapas
of the sages ; that you have helped the gods
themselves out of their narrows.

Mother Anasuya! immaculate
woman! the pure feminine
as compassion, puissance and perfection :

I seek and need your blessings.”

“Sita, you are indeed blest beyond words,”
said Anasuya slowly;

“in fair and foul climate alike, you are
with Rama your exiled spouse.

There’s nothing nobler or more sanctified
in life than conjugal love,
the unwavering devotion of wife
to her consecrated Lord.”

“My mother— and Kausalya too — have stressed
the same truth,” Sita replied;

“I’m blessed because Rama is husband, friend,
father, mother, comrade, all!

As I faced the sacred Fire at the time
of my marriage, my mother
called to mind Savitri and Rohini
as example]^ to follow.

What you have said. Mother Anasuya,
chimes with the exhoitations
from my mothers, and I’ll accordingly
direct the course of my life.”

18S Atri and Anasuya

Kissing her, Anasuya pressed Sita
to ask for a boon she liked;

Sita answered with a smile, “I have all;

I don’t know what more I need.” 40

Pleased with Sita’s response, Anasuya
made a gift of choice raiment,
ornaments, cosmetics and rich ointment,
and an unfading garland. 41

“Take these, Sita, they’ve divine potency,”
said Anasuya; “if you
rub your body with this unguent, you will
please Rama more than ever.” 42

Then, on her special request, Sita spoke
of her Earth-born mystery,
her life in Mithila, her strange bride-price
and her marriage to Rama. 43

Anasuya heard the account with joy
and wished to see Maithili
adorned with the rare presents she had won ;
and Sita acquiesced at once. 44

“This has been a unique feast for my eyes,”
said Anasuya with tears
of traifScendent bliss; “let us be hiunan,

Sita, sensible and wise. 45

Take all that talk of the miraculous
with a pinch or two of salt :
think of me, Sita, as a womanly
woman, no magic-monger. 46

This world — this environing universe -
js a self-generating
symphony, and so every jarring note
is but an aberration. 47

One has to canter to the still centre,
and by an effort of will

touch the keys, set right the strings, till once more

the concert renews itself. 48

Or there may have to be a worsening
ere things get better and race
back to harmony: the wiser course, then,
would be to wait — wait on Grace.

49

186 Sitayana

Dear Sita, let me impress on you this :

the Unknown lays traps for us,
and patience and sufferance are needed,
but the Grace can never fail.” 50

Soon after, when Sita told everything
to Rama, he felt buoyed up
that the saintly Anasuya should have
dowered them with such regard. 5 1

Twas most auspcious, said Rama, they could
receive both godspeed and gifts
from Atri and Anasuya before

plunging into the forest. 52

Having exceeded the dualities
and the three gunas as well.

Sage Atri had the poise of the Spirit
and a timeless certitude. 53

And Anasuya, matching the power
of her purity and peace
with her dear lord’s sovereign understanding,
partnered him to perfection. 54

‘Twas the best insurance for the exiles
OP the eve of their trial,
and the Sati’s gifts would be talismans
as well as benedictions.* 55

At dawn, all three woke refreshed, and after
ablutions made offerings
in the Fire, and took leave of Sage Atri
and sainted Anasuya. 56

Apprising them of the dangers lurking
in Dandaka’s expanses,
the Sage advised the travellers about
the safe route to the forest.

57

Canto 24: Inside Dandaka

Drawn into the dense and dreaded woodland
with its famed hermitages,
the royal exiles saw clear vestiges
of saintly disciplined life.

Numerous were the scattered settlements,
but they framed into a whole
with xhe inmates of each elected place
cultivating quietude.

They were sanctuaries for the chosen,
and the Vedic way of life
as enacted by the inhabitants
mad§ the atmosphere holy.

The dwellingg were shaded, secluded, clean ;

birds and shy deer felt at home;
the altars kept the sacred Fires burning;
the oblations never f iled.

As the priests with practised ease recited
the immemorial Riks,
the ghee-fed flames rose high as if intent
on bringing the heavens down.

Luxurious overgrowths surrounded
the focal hermitages,
and the great exemplars of askesis
moved about, a class apart.

They were clad in austere tree-bark rament,
their firm hands held kusu grass
and twigs of a length for fire-offering ;
and inaudibly they prayed.

Lost in self-absorption th..l quite annulled
the dichotomies of life,
they had beyonded desire and defeat
and found their kingdom within.

There were hermitresses too, and children
who romped like sounds in music,
and the glint in their eyes and their prattle
presaged a golden future.

188 Sitayana

Rich with Nature’s bounty of the seasons
and the human verities,
the retreats were a world within the wild
and wicked Dandaka world.

Sita had heard of the Rakshasa breed,
those denizens of the dark
driven to thwart the Divine ordering
of an Earthly Paradise.

Oft had Rama recalled the demoness
Tataka, how her misdeeds
spelt sacrilege to the Sacrifices
of Rishi Visvamitra.

The titans were cosmic aberrations
who sought their good in evil
and found delight in the profanation
of the sanctified altars.

That the sex feminine, the mother sex -
albeit of the demon race —
should ever traflSck in cold cruelty
or cry ‘Chaos’ and ‘Kill, kill!’

But Sita’s film of memory was scrawled
with the sepulchral figures
of Kaikeyi and crooked Manthara,
and Tataka didn’t surprise.

There was of course that rankling scratch of pain,
the killing of Tataka :
had Sita been with Rama at the time,
that might have been averted.

Or perhaps the demoness asked for it,
and there was no other way !

And now, with bow unstrung, accompanied
by Sita and Saumitri,

his eyes all animation and ardour,
his stride bold and resolute,

Rama walked into the Dandaka woods
and made for the Mandala.

Receiving the resplendent visitors,
the all-perceiving Rishis
gave spontaneous welcome to the Princes
and the flame-pure Vaidehi.

1 89 Inside Dandaka

And marvelling at the majestic three,
their beauty of build and mind
and soul, the wise in the congregation
made a humble submission : 77

“Rama of the Raghu race! we’ve abjured
arms even for self-defence;
we beseech you, O Prince, to gather us
within your protection’s sway.” 78

The sages then duly honoured and blessed
the uncommon guests, offered
fruits and roots, and gave lodgings for the night
in the Ashrama spaces. 79

When early dawn appeared, Rama, Sita,

Lakshmana, fully refreshed
by the night’s rest, took leave of the Rishis
and walked into Dandaka. 80

Unlike tile Mjndaia, i^s harmony
of parts and sufficiency,
the jungle seemed an unseemly excess,
a distortion of Nature. 81

Tigers, bears, pursuing the frightened deer;
the flora in disarray ;

the pools muddied, the birds bereft of song —
only ihe crickets chirping, 82

Suddenly the travellers encountered
a figure huge, revolting,
clad in blood -dripping tiger-skin; death-like

his mien, and thunder his speech. 83

Marking the humans, the monster gave out
a deafening yell, swooped on
Vaidehi in defiance of her Lord,
and bellowed these boastful words : 84

“I'm Viradha the Rakshasa, I live
on the flesh of the Rishis,

I’ll make this woman my wife: as for you,

• I’ll kill you and quaff the blood.” J*-'

Sighting Maithili on Viradha’s hip
trembling like a storm-caught leaf,

Rama gave vent to tears, but Lakshmana
exhorted him to action.

86

1 90 Sitayana

Branding him as evil, Rama sent forth
a team of seven arrows
against Viradha, who set down Sita
and turned against the brothers. 87

It was a brief but bitter engagement,
and when Viradha gathered
both Rama and Lakshmana, and strode forth
heaving them on his shoulders, 88

the Princes a while let him please himself;

but Maithili grew alarmed
and cried in distress: “Seize me if you must,

O Rakshasa, but spare them.” 89

Stung by her words, they chopped off Viradha’s
hands and felled him on the ground :
now he recalled the curse that had damned him,

a Gandharva, to that life, 90

and howling distraught, he begged for release;

they ended his agony,
dug a pit and buried him, and his soul
left for the Gandharva world. 91

Rejoining Sita and quelling her fears,
all three reached Sarabhanga’s
hermitage, and saw Indra and his train
precipitately withdraw. 92

Having seen Rama, Sita, Lakshmana,
the great Sage sensed fulfilment
and entered the fire to rise to Heaven
in his ethereal self. 93

The many ascetics of the forest
who witnessed Sarabhanga’s
ascent had also viewed from a distance
the killing of Viradha. 94

Diverse their ascetic deprivations,
disciplines, dedications;
some lived frugally, some in the open;
some had their retreats in caves; 95

some opted for stringent austerities,
some kept slumber at arm’s length,
some fancied wetnrss, and some the Five Fires:

Yoga gave lustre to all.

96

1 9 1 Inside Dandaka

The assembled anchorites in one voice
supplicated to Rama :

“We forest-dwellers are persecuted
by the Rovers of the Night;

our retreats on river-banks and hill-slopes
bear daily witness to deeds
of evil, for our sages are being
butchered by the Rakshasas.

They foul and disrupt our Sacrifices
and desecrate our altars.

Upholder of Dharma! safeguard us from
these delegates of the Dark."

And Rama said, deeply moved: “It’s for you
to command my services;
my duty is clear, and sure Til rid you
of the Rakshasa menace."

Accornpanii.d oy some of the Rishis,
the travellers readied at last
the Ashrama of aged Sutikshna,
and made obeisance to him.

“Welcome!" said fhe Sage embracing Rama;

‘‘your presence lights up the place;

I’ve been tarrying only in the hope
year steps might cross my threshold."

He would not accept Sutikshna's offer
of the fruits of his lupus
for ‘twas proper, Rama said, that he should
win them by his own effort.

Declining also the Rishi’s request
that they might spend their exile
in the Ashrama, Rama said they would
go round all the settlements.

They rested there, however, for the night,
and at break of dawn uiey bathed,
worshipped the Sun, circumambulated
the Sage, and took leave of him

On the way they saw spread out before them
all Nature’s munificence

of life, colour, shape, sound, poise, stir, movement,
and all fiiuna and flora.

192 Sitayana

Seizing a suitable moment, Sita
spoke freely to her fair Lord :

“Fm but a woman, yet FlI remind you
of Dharma’s imperatives.

Three are the prime temptations that call for
rejection unqualified:
falsehood, first of all; worse, adultery;
and third, violence without cause.

Stranger to falsehood, you are also free
from the faintest stir of lust;
but I see the last of the temptations
has secured a hold on you.

You’ve lightly given word to the sages
that you will rid Dandaka
of the Rakshasas : in our present plight,
is it wise, fair or prudent?

As desired by your Father, you are here
an exile for fourteen years
condemned to matted locks and hermit weeds;
this is no season for arms.

In self-defence, yes, as with Viradha;

but this launching a crusade
even against those that haven’t injured us,

I call it causeless violence.

I feel dazed and careworn with anxiety
when you two carry your bows
and arrows, ready for instant action
against the Rakshasa hordes.

I must needs call to your mind the hermit
who had for safe custody
a gleaming sharp sword, and went on gazing
at it with obsessive love;

and he carried it wherever he went,
doted on it all the time,
and so he lost his inner poise and peace,

and lapsed from enlightenment.

%

Your hereditary warrior-role
and what you’ve now opted for —
the hermit’s contemplative way of life —
these don’t chime with each other.

193 Inside Dandaka

Duties always pair with privileges:

you’ve renounced the Kshattriya’s
powers; is it fair, then, to shoulder still
the fighter-code’s compulsions?

When the long years of exile are over
and we’re back in Ayodhya,
that’ll be the time to clasp the Bow again
with its quiverful of shafts.

I grant I’m a woman, but Janaka’s
daughter too, and Rama’s wife:
how iliay I refrain from speech or counsel
when Dharma beats a retreat?”

“You speak indeed like Janaka’s daughter,”
Rama answered; “no wonder
the woman in you feels such repugnance
to all,forms of cruelty.

But we’ve seen in the Ashrama clusters
remnants of the sabotage
and sacrilege done by the Rakshasas,
the sworn enemie* of Light.

There’ll be no killing of all and sundry,
only of evil-doers

that cioss our path, or cause determined hurt
to the ministers of God.

And, besides, as you no doubt recollect,
the Rishis in a body

took refuge in me and detailed their woes
and asked for my protection.

My word has been given : better batter
my heart and lose Lakshmana,
lose you, and all, than break my plighted word
thi 5 is the Law that rules me.

It’s out of your love and c^mcern, Sita,
you’ve spoken, and you’re dearer
than life itself to me' let’s fare forward
and tread the path of Dharma.”

So they walked in a file, Rama leading,
slender-waisted Sita next,
and last, Lakshmana carrying his bow —
and they teamed to perfection.

194 Sitayana

For a while, though, they were like prisoners
of their private thoughts, a cloud
no bigger than a child's hand hovering
o'er the ambiguous air. 127

But the feel of Nature's magnificence
dispelled all the mist and cloud;
and the streams and pools, the cranes, swans, the herds
of deer, and the singing birds, 1 28

all Nature took the travellers in hand
until, late in the evening,
they reached an enchanting lake invested

with a teasing mystery. 129

They saw elephants near the banks; and swans,
cranes and lotuses gambolled
on the water; and sweet music and song

seemed to come from the lake's depths. 130

Twas a bower invisible, they learnt,
where Mandakarni sported
with the five nymphs sent by Indra to thwart
the Rishi's austerities. 131

The wise one alas! whose long askesis
had made the gods uneasy,
now content with the drowsy Life Heavens
of boredom unlimited ! - 132

Vastly amused by the ascetic's plight,
the royal exiles shifted

their vision, and now saw spread before them

the great hermit settlements. 133

Moving closer, they could see Ashramas
varied and spacious and fair,
and the light of Truth and the ambience

of ardour were everywhere. 134

They had a lively spontaneous welcome
from the Rishis young and old,
and the fraternity urged the exiles

to live in the ^ :ttlemcnts. 135

This was to their liking too , and Sit a,

Rama and Lakshmana moved
from Ashrama to Ashrama, a few
marvellous days here, a week.

136

195 Inside Dandaka

a fortnight, or a month, at another
hermitage, or a full year
or two in a choice Retreat, and so on,
for more than ten years in all.

How quickly and profitably Time passed,
and the rhythm of days, weeks,
months, seasons; the steady march ol the years —
a circuit and symphony.

Each hermitage was a haven apart,
and the configuration
of the settlements, the critical mass,
glowed like a constellation.

The same complex of male and female; old
and young, birth, growth, decline; and
the same drama of living and dying, -
yet sfjorting numberless forms!

Of Life's infinite manif'e.stations
the human species alone
carried a load of possibility,
and uncertainty a« a" '1

But the human base also permitted
a range of variations
comprising extremes of evil and goiid,
the demon and the divine.

While within the elected enclosures
life was a musical piece
and the unobtrusive inmates the notes
distinctive and coalescing,

there could be sudden jangling intrusions
by the prowlers of the Night
who splashed forth darkness and desecration
and o’erpowered the Rishis.

These, however, grew few'r with the years,
the wreckers kept out of bounds
as though scenting the twin bowmen’s presence;
and the Mandalas knew peace.

Canto 25 Around the Ashramas

During their leisurely travels around
the Retreats in Dandaka,
the royal exiles felt more than dazzled
by the play of variety 146

The Ashramas making a Mandala,
and the divers colonies
themselves, were scattered all o er Dandaka
and essayed a way of life 147

The Rishis were the revered denizens
of the Ashrama clusters,
and were the peaks of the human species
the Leaders, the pathfinders 148

They were of either sex, and could be saints,
scholars, poets, priests, prophets,
scientists, educators, advisers

householders or sannyasins 149

They were humankind’s privileged vanguard
winning their way to the heights
by the askesis that opens the door
to intuitive leaps of thought 150

But the Rishis — aye, the greatest, wisest
and the most celebrated —
even they weren’t formulas or bloodless
or passionless abstractions 151

They could lose their temper at times, or curse
or invite imprecations ,
they could savour the throb of wedded love
or play a Minister’s role 152

In a theatre of uncertainty
where the gods and titans hurled
menace at one another, the human
Rishis served as equipoise 153

In some of the half-inaccessible
Ashramas, austerity
reigned with ochre the ruling colour
and silence as mode of speech

154

197 Around the Ashramas

But this silence, pairing with a constant
smile of infectious kindness,
or a look of serene understanding,
was more eloquent than words. 155

An unflickering smile — a child’s, a saint’s,
a mother’s — or a steady
spraying of compassion and communion
could invoke infinities, 156

for ‘twas like the welcome rain-bearing cloud
showering largesse of Grace
on’ everybody, on all visitors,

and sinners seekers alike. 157

Twas thus a marvellous education
for tne royal wanderers
to move from Mandala to Mandala
and^meet the enlightened ones. 158

No doubt the encounters with the Rishis,
anchorites* and ecstatics
weren’t all of a piece but differed greatly
with place, time and circumstance. 159

It seemed odd to Rama and Lakshmana,
and forbiddingly bizarre
to Sila, that some of the ascetics

of the outer settlements, 160

and some in the peripheral regions,
should fancy acrobatics
or resort to ingenious gymnastics

or extreme self-denial. 161

Some seemed suspended upside down, their le«»s
pointing to the azure sky ;

5ome stood in neck-deep or nose-deep water

ii] a smelly u^ackish pond. 162

Some were in meditation, but in league
with frightening privations
like sticking thorns into the cheeks or tongue,
lying on a bed of nails, 163

stepping in and out of a pit of fire,
clutching a laiot of vipers,
letting scorpions crawl over the body,
or abjuring food and sleep.

164

198 Sitayana

And some displayed a crown of prickly pear,
or a serpent round the neck;
and thus did they inflict a thousand ills
on the innocent body.

165

Whenever the travellers came across
such grotesqueries or grim
exhibitions of asceticism,

Sita reacted strongly.

166

While Rama and Saumitri fell amused,
awed, diverted or repulsed,

Sita’s trembling heart evoked the Mother
incarnate in the Earth-born,

167

the inherent universal Mother
who suffered the wounds herself :

“Oh these misguided athletes of Yoga
that persecute their bodies !

168

Why hang suspended by a hand or leg
from the tree, or sit rooted
to the earth letting creepers grow around
or sparrows perch on the head?

169

Ah there! ant-like clay-galleries cover
that ascetic, all except
his eyes, and I wonder how long he has
wallowed in this miseryj

170

See, see, there’s yet another ascetic,
his right hand holding a pot
of Tulsi, and his promiscuous nails
displaying a labyrinth !

171

Where’s the merit in such self-inflictions,
such declarations of war
against the diverse limbs and their freedoms,
or their natural functions?

172

What passion, pride or perversity drives
these fanatic ascetics!

or does it all spring from the dark dungeon
of their spirit’xal pride?

173

Isn’t the body the Temple of the Lord?

Why, then, this mangling, maiming,
mutilation of God’s tabernacle?

What vandalism is this !

174

199 Around the Ashramas

Haven’t I seen in Mithila my father,
and jndni Yajnavalkya;
and in Ayodhya too, such lighthouses —
Vasishta, Vamadeva!

They fancy no vagabond contortions
of the body, nor impose
on themselves a knotted extravagance
of bodily chastisement.

Ever inly tuned to the Infinite,
the steady Light within casts
a luminous halo of holiness
on their commonest actions.

All errors and perversions of human
behaviour must proceed from
the mind’s suggestions, vital impulses;
and the body's not to blame!

Wasn’t It an jjberrati n to chastise
the loyal executant
for the sins of egoistic desire
of one of several kinds?

Deprivation but sharpens and heightens
the denied appetite, and
only awaits a break to rage again
with a redoubled fury.

It’s not the rejection of God's blessings
but their grateful acceptance
in a mood, not of pride, but detachment -
that shows the play of wisdom."

Then, turning to Rama, she said: “My Lord,
both when the Vicegerency
sought you, and as it withdrew and exile
came as your sceptre and crown :

you sported a look gf tra nsparency
beyonding all attachment ;

Rama, this I believe is the truer,
purer, asceticism !

In this our world, be it town, countryside
or the woodlands wild like these
stretches of Dandakaranya, you find
beauty — beauty — everywhere.

200 Sitayana

Reject it, and where do we go? Deny
its sweetness, manifoldness, —
how can we? Let’s still, like little children,
cherish Mother Earth’s blessings. 1 85

Rama, Rama, how can these ascetics
seek to run away from life
when life, life, life is the triune splendour
of Light, Love and blessedness?” 186

Rama’s set face broadened into a smile,
and he made answer : “Sita,
such wisdom and forthrightness race beyond
your years, and I’m proud of you. 187

It’s as you say, Sita; misery comes
from the adhesion to things :
and when you’re free within, nor acceptance

nor rejection enslaves you.” 188

By and by, the exiles learned to avoid
the more particular haunts
of the ascetic exhibitionists

and their grim self-torturings. 189

And there were the numerous Ashramas
authentic to the marrow
set in gardenscapes with all the allure
of the sapphire of the 'Skies, 190

Some of these more spacious hermitages
and their appurtenances
were geared to the tasks of educating
princes and commoners both. 191

It was living and learning and growing
at once, and the physical
at the base to the Spirit at the top
made an arc of Becoming. 192

For the royal travellers, these visits
were an education too;

and ‘twas strange, they thought, they owed this blessing
to the venoiiious crookback ! 193

The art of teaching in these Ashramas
seemed to follov- a pattern
of prime austerities encompassing
their due realisations.

194

201 Around the Ashramas

The body beautiful, wholesome and strong
was charged with the Spirit’s glow,
and this was the crown of the askesis
of the interlocking limbs.

Those of faultless bearing and behaviour
had achieved a mastery
over the conflicting life-impulses,
and acquired poise and power.

The discipline of the mind’s faculties
of wideness, comprehension,
choice and proper direction crystallised
in sovereignty of Knowledge.

The askesis of self-discovery,
the tracking down and finding
of the illimitable Soul within,
crowned Love as the law of life.

This fourfolJ siadhi of Beauty, Power,
the light of JKnowicdge and grace
of Love prepared the beneficiary
for the tasks of the future.

Integrally the bud-jike neophyte
opened up gradually,
and he was scholar, warrior, statesman
and <he Divine's serviteur.

In some other Ashramas, secluded,
exclusive and redolent
of sanctity, the happy travellers
breathed a paradisal air.

Offering obeisance to king-sages,
saint-hermitresses and Bards
endowed with the Vision and Voice divine,
*the travellers felt fulfilled.

What prophet caverns, what lucent corners,
what elect sanctuaries,

what potent cells of the Spirit were these? -
for glory hung about them.

One of the venerable Patriarchs,
ageless in his appearance,
taught by his mere presence; and his silence
was sublime teaching enough.

202 Sitayana

When the youthful aspirant travellers,
after paying obeisance,
settled themselves at the great Rishi’s feet,
a peace descended on them. 205

A marvel of benignity and calm,
the Seer-Rishi exuded
serenity as he sat statuesque

under an Aswatha tree. 206

There was a pale glow on his countenance,
his bright eyes seemed to convey
a nectarean message, and he sat
in throned immobility. 207

How was it, Sita thought, that some minutes
of this sustained exposure
somehow engineered a vast inner change

bringing down a peace divine? 208

Was it the Light of transcendental Truth
that filled everything and made
the spectacle of multiplicity

a splendorous unity‘s 209

Sita could see how the disprivileged
of the world — the blind, the mute,
the waifs, the possessed — found in that silence
the solvent of their problems.

On the move again, they were attracted
by one of the populous
Ashramas on the main, and were received
with warmth by the residents.

The splash of ochre was hardly the rule,
for the middle-aged Yogi,
a householder, was clad in purest white
and his smile was disarming.

It was a child’s smile, the smile of candid
babyhood, and his consort
was also in white, and her black flowing
tresses backgrounded her face.

The yogi spoke softly to the exiles
and invited them to stay
for as long as they liked, and Maithili
felt drawn to the Yogini.

210

211

212

213

214

203 Around the Ashramas

Although his antecedents were obscure,
clearly the Yogi was one
who had taken the Kingdom of Heaven
by the storm of his ardour. 215

He had small learning, the smile on his face
was askesis without tears,
or rather with tears of joy; and he taught
through proverbs and parables. 216

The Yogini’s presence and unhurried
movements carried an aura
that was like an affirmation of Light,
a promise of victory. 217

One of the younger Yogins, a savant
and ochre-robed gospeller,
admitted that reason always stopped short
of the plenitude of Truth. 218

For tfie exiics, 't '..eemed a life without
tension, Qr questiuns, or doubt,
but Dandaka was large, and they resolved
to continue their travels.

219

Canto 26 : Designs for Living

And so the travellers, their faculties
wide awake and responsive,
moved from one Ashrama to another,
eager to visit them all.

What really surprised them was the startling
variety in sanctity —

the goodness, holiness, sheer godliness —
that unfolded everywhere.

Yet for those pilgrims of Eternity
self-absorbed in tapasya,
sudden interruption or disruption
could come from the titan-hordes.

Rama’s presence in Dandaka, no doubt,
kept the Rakshasas contained,
and the Rishis also had learned to live
with the menaces around.

As the orderly itinerary
of the exiles’ journeyings
took them deeper into the fastnesses
of the uncharted forest,

they made a rapid circuit of a whole
range of unconventional
aggregations with their own distinctive
philosophies of living.

Many only reaffirmed the values
of Sanatana Dharma
with but peripheral innovations
in theory and practice.

In one, the entire emphasis centered
in the esoteric art
of awakening the Kundalini,
the Serpent Power within.

In another, the presiding Yogi,
a figure exuding charm,
offered a ready infali hle clue
to the quantum leap irom here!

205 Designs for Living

A few, however, seemed to be engaged
in the diversionary —
the deceptively occult — or even
the blandly hedonistic;

and reckless apostles weren’t hesitant
to exhort; ‘‘Stoop to conquer!

No inhibitions! Taste life to the lees!

Forward to self-mastery!”

As if it’s pouring ghee upon the fire
that extinguishes the flames!

Yet \was thus these schools of self-indulgence
entangled the unwary.

They came, it seemed, in obese battalions
from the Rakshasa strongholds
in Lanka, or the remoter reaches
of Dandaka and beyond.

Wherever ill gotten affluence reigned
in unholy alliance
with an inexhaustible appetite
for the forbidden frud-tree:

the doomed darlings of those spendthrift regions
made a bee-line to these spots
lured by their audacious recipes foi
happiness everlasting.

But the wandering exiles, having been
warned of the insidious traps,
avoided by infallible instinct
these dangerous enclosures.

And there were the old-world hermitages
where the young travellers saw
how the perennial wisdom of the land
lighted up everyday life.

The elders were an alchemic presence,
and the seekers with their sure
psychic responses learned with no effort
and matured theii perceptions.

And so, with Rama leading the others,
the exiles turLcd their journeys
into adventures of discovery.

206 Sitayana

In one of the Ashramas, the Rishi
gave the visitors a smile
all-sufficing, touched their secret heart-strings,
and sprayed them with his blessings.

239

In another, crowded with disciples,
tne clairvoyant Madonna
wore a far-off look, as if wandering
in realms remote from the earth.

240

But in a third, packed with an assortment
of admirers, the Master
purveyed paradoxes making the he
glisten as the grander truth !

241

"Didn't we hear something like this, Maithili,”

Rama whispered, "from dear old

Jabali at Chitrakuta? Ah let’s
get away from this folly!"

242

Some hours of leisurely walking brought them
to a richly organised

Ashrama, and the royal travellers
were received with warmth and joy.

243

The majestic Head of the Mandala
discoursed on the close nexus
between the physical and the occult,
and the master-key to both.

244

Even as he was speaking, with a wave
of his hand as if blessing,
he would materialise out of the air
a flower, fruit or feather.

245

a talisman, a piece of adornment,
or a message in parchment,
and present it to one or another
of the rapt congregation.

246

The listeners were a miscellany
made up of the well-to-do,
the learned ones, as also the wretched,
the unredeemed of the earth.

247

As for Sita and the royal Brothers,
they sat apart for a while
till the Sage saw and called them, and they had
a fruitful conversation.

248

207 Designs Jor Living

He explained that human nature varied
a great deal and demanded
divers approaches for encompassing
the inner awakening.

Faith came to some from a sudden shower
of Grace ; to some by sheer force
of the Sadguru’s personality
or his miraculous moves.

There were no miracles, in fact; only
the push of the leverage
at tne right time; and all means were valid
in the Battle of the Soul!

On the days following, the Travellers
savoured of the ambience
of the spacious grounds where the old and young
founjl livinf> an adventure.

Of prime appeal to S ta, however,
was the chanting of Vedic
Hymns irresistibly evocative
of the worlds inv ^i^’e.

Continuing their peregrinations
in the wilds of Dandaka,
the exiles uncannily avoided
the Rakshasa settlements,

for there was something like a Grand Trunk Road
linking the mam Ashramas;
and the Travellers knew a stone’s throw out
on either side of the main,

and they might encounter the messeng:is
of Falsehood and the prowlers
oi the Night on their rounds, and so preferred
to.evade them if they could.

The well-adjusted and loi g-established
Ashramas were still headed
by Rishis of renown whose intuitive
Knowledge shone on their faces;

whose vision grasped all past, present, future,
and the triple worlds; whose voice
with its native mantric resonance linked
the human and the Divine;

208 Sitayana

whose sudden self-lost trances were a means
of tearing through Space and Time
and roaming in the realms of transcendence
removed from our solid Earth;

and always the aspirant Travellers
felt purified and greatened
by the Presence and Grace and golden Voice
of these vicegerents of God.

The charged atmosphere of these Ashramas,
the teams of Rishis expert
in ritual, the resounding Vedic
Riks, and the choice oblations :

the Halls set apart where the Mystic Fire
was invoked, consecrated
and worshipped ; the entire environment
seemed to exude sanctity.

Now unhurrying Time had swept away
days, weeks and months totalling
a decade and more, out of the decreed
fourteen long years of exile.

Twas a pensive evening, calm and peaceful,
and Sita spoke to Rama
with a sweet smile: ''We seem almost to have
fallen in love with this life.

But for youi firm promise to Bharata,
this our life exempt from care
and the reign of routine might make us want
to grow foresters for good!”

They laughed, and walked on for a while further,
and now there suddenly swam
before their view a scattered colony
at some distance to the left.

Approaching by a faint footpath, they read
at the gateway the legend
'Arc of Harmony’ in gold lettering,
and they wanted to explore.

Receiving a warm welcome at the first
orchard with its own cottage,
they fraternised with .he inmates, and learnt
the history of the place.

209 Designs for Living

Arising out of the hcaven-splendoured
Vision of Rishi Satya
that the intestine feud between Deva
and Asura was annulled : 269

the successor spirit, Ganga Mata,
ordained into existence
this Arc of Harmony, this Home for All, -
gods and titans and humans. 270

It was a mighty challenge to translate
a Dream or psychic Vision
into a,n everyday reality

of transparent Brotherhood. 271

“All went well indeed/’ the spokesman explained,

“'twas the birth of a New Age!

The wolf, the lamb and the shepherd essayed

togetherness and kinship. 272

■

The fellowshlu learning, work, prayer;

the united endeavoui
to scale the craggy and spiralling slopes
of the Hill of Consciousness; 273

the great attempt at a progressive pace
to grow out of the shackles
of inhibitions, mental constructions :
all this was fascinating, 274

and the community waxed in numbers,
and the cooperative
adventure of the Arc of Harmony
looked like fulfilling itself.” 275

Now a pause almost ominous followed
before the speaker, after
a, silent exchange with his companions,
could continue his story: 276

“Your youth and the spiritual halo
about you compel respc..t,
and you’re surely of royal lineage,
not the ascetics you seem. 277

Our Satya’s bright Vision of the Future,
our Ganga Mata's dream-child,
our inherited Arc of Harmony,
has alas ! now come to grief.

278

2 1 0 Sitayana

Can il be, O prized visitors, you've come
as delegates from Beyond —
in hermit weeds but in warrior-stance —
to redeem us from our ills? 279

And O Bride of auspicious circumstance
and compassionate Mother,
from what privileged heavenly domain
have you strayed into this Arc?" 280

Twas Lakshmana who gave a brief reply
about their antecedents,
the current penitential wanderings
and commitment to Dharma. 281

And in conclusion he asked ; “But you spoke
of ills that afflict the Arc ;
we don't understand — why should a Vision
of Glory fail in the test?" 282

The little group was perceptibly awed
to learn the identity
of the visitors, and the spokesman said

with a reverential bow: 283

“This our unfulfilled Arc of Harmony,
this choice stretch of bleeding earth,
feels truly sanctified by your coming —
now our redemption is sure. 284

Our Satya's Dream, our Gahga’s Will, decreed
an integral harmony

of birth and state, and fellowship of race
and sex, of men, gods, titans.

We knew that the divisions meant nothing,
for the essential Deva
or Asura was within, and frail Man
could be one or the other.

But we had the native freedom to think,
and make our choice, and become
the ideal Man that combined the best
of Deva and Asura.

But sometime ago, a rift opened up
and widened venomously,
and now the splendid Arc is split in two
and discord alone prevails.

285

286

287

288

2 1 1 Designs for Living

We the few here, we were the pioneers;

we welcomed others, we turned
the first sod, and we laboured together;

and we're here, hoping, praying. 289

When you pass the next barrier along
the footpath, the fork sunders
the Mandala into the hemispheres,
with a grim divide between. 290

In the early years, the Truth of oneness
of man, god and the titan
reigned as the very breath of our being,
the very law of our life. 291

The giddy euphoria of the times
made us lose our discretion,
and all and sundry — with diverse motives -
infiltrated amidst us. 292

And immatLiiT> made us fall for
numbers more than quality;
and one day the community split — and
the Arc is a shambles now. 293

We had commenced in our happier days
a sadhana of service,
a many-tiered architectural

spu ailing of consciousness. 294

It was to be structured as a symbol
movement of Aspiration
from the seven Vestibules of Darkness
to the seven Stairs of Light. 295

All lent a helping hand in the quarries,
wrestled with recalcitrant
r»cks, hauled up heavy stones, and everything

as service and offering. 296

•

I used to think this was like the Churning
of the Ocean, with Devas
and Titans in the joy of adventure

to win the ambrosial prize, 97

But a clique of dissidents gained control,
decreed a vertical split,
and like people possessed began scuttling
the bright Future we had launched.

298

212 Sitayana

All righteous effort is at a standstill,
and whole heaps of energy
are being frittered away in wrangles,
division and sabotage. 299

And that’s the sad history of the Arc
that has crashed, but the embers
of the Fire are kept alive in our hearts,
and we've not ceased to hanker." 300

While the recital had a depressing
effect on the visitors,

Sita expressed the desire to get close
to the scene of the dispute. 301

The spokesman of the firstcomers offered
to show the Travellers round,
and the next day they covered the two split
hemispheres of the fabric.

The twyfold damaged Arc of Harmony —
the One now cut into Two —
made similar claims and allegations
cancelling out each other.

And both sides appealed to Rama as Prince
to intervene and ordain
a new Order; and also begged Sita
to make the Dream live again.

When they %iewed the vast divide and beyond,

Rama's face was a mask, and
Lakshmana's impassive, but Maithili's -
a requiem for a defeat !

“'Must it always be like this!" she exclaimed;

“I and you, and mine and thine;

North and South, and West and East — the Abyss

for all! May Grace redeem us!" 306

And Rama said in parting: “Despair not.

Visionaries of the Arc;
rise to the plateaus of the Higher Mind, —
you'll forge Harmony again." 307

Leaving that word of goodwill, hope and faith,
the royal exiles retraced
their eager steps to the Grand Trunk Pathway
and persevered m thcir quest.

302

303

304

305

308

Canto 27: Agast>a and Lopamudra

At last the rhythm of their wanderings
encompassed a full cycle,
and they arrived once more at Sutikshna’s,
and offered him obeisance.

After a few days’ rest and inner peace
they sought the Sage’s counsel :
where could they meet the revered Agasiya
of whom they had heard so much?

They hadn’t come upon his place anywhere
in the clusters they had seen,
and feeling a yawning incompleteness
they prayed for right direction

Sutiksfina a",.w:.ied with a smile; “Indeed,
it’s proper. you mcci the Sage'
four Yojanas to the south, and you reach
a seductive upland spot,

and Agaslya’s brot'.ier, Sudarsana,
has his hut among the groves;
if you proceed after a good night’s rest
a Yojana further south,

you will attain Agastya’s Ashrama,
a rich woodland paradise;
and the Sage and his spouse, Lopamudra,
will both receive you with love. "

The flame-word struck a quick responsive chord
in attentive Sita’s soul,
fpr since her early childhood days she had
felt the magic of the name.

A legend in her nonage days, a star
apart in the spangled sk , ,

Lopamudra was an emanation,
a life-ray for womankind.

Sita recalled her prior communings
with paragons of the race,
like Gargi, Maitreyi, Arundhati
and the reborn Ahalya.

214 Sitayana

Then, in the first phase of her forest life,
the sainted Anasiiya;

now, moving towards the end, she will meet
the matchless Lopamudra!

With Sulikshna's blessings, the royal three
commenced their journey again,
and by evening they reached Siidarsana's
secluded place in the woods

It was shaded by pepper trees and groves
weighted with flowers and fruit,
and the worthy Sage, Agastya's brother,
gave them a hearty welcome.

He spoke of Ilvala and Vatapi,
their reign of terror, and how
Agastya destroyed those demons, and fair
new times began for the South.

Resuming their journey at dawn, Rama,

Sita and Saumitri took
the footpath to Agastya's hermitage
rimmed by luxurious trees.

Set in the heart of the jungle wildness,
the Ashrama exuded
a peace unearthly, for Agastya’s name
expelled all forms of evil.

The puissant enlightened Sage extended
his spiritual domain

o’er both sides of the Vindhyas, north and south,
and practised his ministry.

Seated before the sacrificial Fire,
the luminous Sage received
the obeisance of his three noble guests
and gave his benediction.

After oblations in the holy Fire,
the Sage offered fruits and roots,
and while he engaged the brothers in talk,

Sita sought the Rishi’s wife.

The reality of the embodied
Shakti, the fusion of grit
and Grace, the tall presence, the charisma :
these surpassed expectation.

318

319

320

321

322

323

324

326

327

21 5 Agastya and Lopamudra

The imperious Lopamudra’s smile
was for Sita a charter
of acceptance, and the two established
an instantaneous rapport.

'‘You needn’t tell me, 1 know the whole story,”
said the prophetess at once;

“and I commend your courage and marvel
at your total affiance.

Life’s not easy, dear, for the likes of us,
we’re the exceptional ones;
you are the earth-born found in a furrow,
and 1 was a foundling too.

Mithila’s King gave you name and nurture,
as Vidarba’s did to me;
the birth-time mystery still rings us round,
and the odds are against us!”

“But why?” ';.3Kcd Sita in her innocence;

“for my own gencr:uion
you've been the seven-splendourcd rainbow arc
of puissance and perfection,”

“The gilded butterfly ! the golden lamb!”

came the withering reply;

“glitter is not gold, and gold is not life,
and*seeming is not being.

Married to sanctity or royalty,
you hug illusions — my lord
is my god, or my hero, or my child,
but not my peer or comrade!

There’s doubtless the legend of difference
between the male and female
of, the human species — we’re called the fair,
the frail, aye, the weaker sex!

And the curse of custom accentuates
this slick physiological
difference and rears a grim edifice
of behavioral ethics.

When the baby is born, there isn’t all that
mighty emphasis of 'weak'
and ‘strong’ and the child is cherubim-like,
a descent from the Divine.

216 Sitayana

The naked and just-bom splendour of life
comes frm a distant region,
defies all degrees and categories,
and is steeped in sovereignty.

And yet, the dead weight of the unconscious,
the well-settled prejudice
and the blind unreason of the ages
close upon the growing child.

Nature’s economy of arrangement,
the stress on the minimum
variation to perpetuate the race,
becomes inflated ere long.

The blind and witless forget that beyond
body and passion and mind
there’s nor male nor female in the ocean
infinitudes of the soul.

Yet Man and Woman are riven apart,
they’re pushed to opposite poles,
and they tamely submit to being judged
by rival weights and measures.

The fair grow fairer still with unguents,
adornments and jewellery ;
women are soft-spoken, their speech is like
music — golden, their silence!

A whole cyclopaedia of do’s and don’ts
for the Woman, contrasted
with a flagrantly opposite guide-book
for the domineering Male.

‘Don’t speak too loud!’ the hapless girl is told;

‘Don’t walk too fast, don’t come out
of the cribbed security of the home;
in or out, obey the male!

O engage, if you will, in childhood games,
play the nurse with pretty dolls,
or act the sage mother with other girls,
or chatter with your parrots!

Marry at the proper time, bear children ;

and let the sons and daughters
grow and evolve like different species —
and don’t presume to question !’

338

339

340

341

342

• 343

344

345

346

347

2 1 7 Agastya and Lopamudra

And look, Sita, how from his very birth
the boy has a privileged
upbringing; he’s the superior sex,
the ruler, fighter, killer.

348

His childhood toys are soldiers, his boyhood
occupation is playing
with bows, arrows, axes, maces, tridents,
and dreaming of streams of blood.

349

Alas, alas, what a mess humankind
has made of the gifts of Grace
vouchsafed equally to men and women
by the Mother of us all!

350

Always the excesses of Asuric
pride or of Rakshasa spite,
the eruption of malice, anger, lust,

must spell Woman’s misery.

•

351

But where snail we find strong enough language
to castigatt the folaes
and crimes, the jealousies and revenges,
of the mindless human male?

352

But, Sita, It’s mighty gratifying
you have declined to be scared
by the Unknown, and are willing to share
the* Inals of the forest.

353

This lunatic division of labour —

Woman for the home, and Man
for the battlefield! — has driven a wedge
and splintered humanity.

354

While the sons get trained to become killers
in the horrid game of war,
rile daughters get entrapped in the male’s net
of pride, possession and lust.

355

Sita my child, and Rama’s bride, you’ll be
the mother of his children,
and always every mother dies almost
to bring new life to the world.

356

O Maithili, schooled in great Janaka’s
domain of lucent knowledge,
let not the burden of my dissidence
render you apprehensive.

357

218 Sitayana

But you do seem to carry the halo
of the indwelling Divine,

and though I may have scared you with this talk,

Tm glad you’re inviolate. 358

Go forth, brave Vaidehi, walk unafraid
and resolute, and perhaps
even this is the kind of askesis

all womankind asks from you! 359

O my dear Sita, may the Light Divine
hem you round like a fortress
of triple brass, and throw back and bury

the ten-limbed monster of Night!” 360

Just then the Princes came, and Rama said ;

“See how the Sage has blessed us —
the Bow of Vishnu matched by Brahma’s dart,

and Indra’s sword and quivers. 361

As for the remnant of the exile left,
he suggests the riverside
Panchavati two Yojanas yonder;
let’s take his blessings and leave.” 362

The inscrutable Sage, his regal Spouse,
the resident anchorites,
all wished the Travellers well: Rama led,

Sita, Saumitri, followed, 363

Fondly gazing at the receding forms
from the Ashrama’s gateway,
the couple exchanged apprehensive looks,
and Agastya said, "Let be!” 364

Bui Lopamudra's vision was disturbed,
the prospective road seemed blurred
by a cloud cluster, and her woman’s heart

rebelled, though she held her peace. 365

Perhaps the Rishi felt, for all his poise,
a searing mysterious
twinge of pain in uneasy alliance
with a far deeper remorse. 366

He turned to rebellious Lopamudra,
met her stern questioning gaze
that carried an accusat. as well,
and found words and voice at last:

367

2 1 9 Ai^ast ya and Lopamudra

“We may have won our plenitudes of Light
by reason of askesis

spread over a countless number of years
and the Grace of the Divine.

We’re doubtless blessed or burdened - with a sight
amazingly wide-ranging,
a simultaneous embrace of the past,
present and all the future.

But these dazzling vistas of percipience
come always with a blinding
effect and even as you think you see,
perhaps you see less or more,

and alas! a slight shift in perspective
can confuse our perceptions
and wheedle us into fateful errors

of reasoning and action.

•

I think 1 set the unfolding drama
of the mighty opposites,
the gallant Kakutstha and the demon
ruler of distant Lanka.

This Rakshasa holds sway o’er Dandaka
from the Janasthana base;
and he has charged with their defence Khara,
Dushana and their army.

Rama’s exile and the tribulations
of Sita and Saumitri,
albeit ostensibly Kaikeyi's work,
have wide ramifications.

I’ve a hunch that before the exile ends
Rama will meet Ravana
ui a definitive grapple of arms*
hence my gift of potent shafts.”

With a lightning flash from her shining eyes
Lopamudra intervened.

“Yes, but while the warriors raise all hell,
what happens to Maithili?

This roving piece of Earth-born innocence
who seems a rweet summary
of the holiness of woman’s beauty,
what's her role in this drama —

220 Sitayana

this unending fight for supremacy
between the vulnerable
powers above and the adverse forces,

Asura and Rakshasa?

In a stance of robust affirmation
she has followed her husband,
ready to face the dangers of the woods,
all the winds, wet and wildness.

But as I saw her pure crystalline eyes
a grim cloud floated across
and a trembling seemed to shake my whole frame
I had to hold myself back.

Is it fair, my Lord, that for the age-long
sins of rivalry between
the cosmic powers, the Earth-born Sita
should become a helpless pawn?”

Sage Agastya stood uncertain, puckered
his eyebrows perceptibly,
and as if hedging with circumspection,
spoke out of a vast unease :

‘i don’t think you should thus distress yourself,
for you’re wise, Lopamudra,
and you’re aware of the imperatives
of the cosmic masquerade.

Blest are the multitude from whom is hid
the confusing alphabet
of the strange agenda of the future :

God holds them as hostages !

And of course the omniscient Source-of-all
has hold of the master-key;
but we the vain and foolish half-knowers
must needs wallow in the fog.

All I can see is the vague marshalling
of rival groups of forces
and the possible ultimate outcome —
but the details elude me.

Given the sweep of probability,
another action-sequence
must soon start, and ^^’s my premonition
Sita too may be involved.

22 1 Agastya and Lopamudra

Since I’m ignorant of the specifics
of Space and Time, or even
of the contending personalities,

1 can but wait on events. 388

But Lopamudra, you’re gifted above
all womankind, and indeed
where are the men either that can truly
equal your understanding? 389

Not for one like you these harsh forebodings,
these mounting apprehensions!

Know that Maithili, both in alliance
wifn Rama and by herself, 390

she the Earth-born now come with a mission
of change and transformation,
carrying Agni in her heart of ruth,
she can suffer and redeem. 391

The eclipses. *lio long nights of the soul,
the prison-cells of tt'e Dark,
all are passing shadows, fading phases —
the Grace must triumph at last!” 392

“So be it, my Lord, said Lopamudra,
and their eyes met, and they knew
that the royal exiles would be able
to race past the dark tunnel. 393

After one more glance of benediction
at the retreating figures —
three diminishing forms making one flame —
the pair walked back to their hut.

394

Canto 28 : Panchavati

And soon, crossing the Mahua forest
and drawing near the mountain,
the exiles saw perched on a banyan tree
a bird-like immensity. 395

On inquiry the answer came: he was
Jatayu the Vulture-King,

Dasaratha’s loyal friend, who would now
look after the exiled three. 396

And Jatayu discoursed knowledgeably
on the beginnings of Life,
on the progenitors of the species
so many and so varied ; 397

of Kardama, Kasyapa; of Daksha,
and of his sixteen daughters,
two of whom — Diti and Aditi— bore
the Asuras and Devas. 398

Another daughter, Tamra, was mother
of Kraunchi, Dhritarashtri,

Bari, Suki, Syeni — and these in turn
mothered many a species: -399

owls, vultures, swans, hawks, eagles, and so on —
the earth has since been peopled
by apes, bears, elephants, monkeys, horses,
deer, cows, tigers and serpents. 400

And mankind, the progeny of Manu ;

all flora, Anala’s; and
Suki’s granddaughter, Vinata, mothered
Aruna and Garuda. '^01

Concluded thus the sweeping history :

Aruna’s sons by Syeni
were the royal vultures, lords of the sky,

Sampati and Jatayu. 402

Listening to Ja,ayau’s long recital,
they marvelled at the vulture’s
firm grasp of the inter-relationships
between all living species.

403

223 Panchavati

And it was comforting to find in him
a trusted family friend,
for the jungle around was infested
with wild life and Rakshasas.

Arrived at Panchavati, the spot marked
by five stalwart banyan trees
fringing the perennial Godavari
and the hill-ranges beyond ;

environed by Nature's munificence,
deer, swans, peacocks, lotus pools,
all the luxury of flower and fruit,
and riot of sound and scent !

With his strength of limb and rare expertise,
out bamboo and other
ready materials, Lakshmana raised
a little hermitage there.

It called fOi su'.iained labour, and judgement,
and talent for processing;
and Sita marvelled how perfectly had
Saumitri mastered the art

Now after the propitiatory rites
they occupied the small hut,
and in a surge of gratitude, Rama
enibraced his peerless brother.

Time stalked in its easy native rhythm,
and the river, hills and plains,
the concert of Nature's opulences,
enlivened their daily life.

And once more the season of autumn passed
and winter’s weeds were welcome:

^nd on the way to the river at dawn
Saumitri murmured his thoughts ;

"\^?c’re forest-dwellers, and austerity
becomes our hard wa> of life;
the wild westerly is our music sweet,
and this bareness is bounty.

But why must Bharata, for Kaikeyi’s
sin, opt for the ascetic's
role on Sarayu's banks, and quite abjure
his princely privileges?”

224 Sitayana

“Think not ill, Lakshmana, of our royal
mother!” admonished Rama;

“but I agree there’s none like the high-souled
and unselfish Bharata.” 414

They had then a bath in Godavari,
and Sita was resplendent
in that hour of dawn, and after sandhya,
all three walked back to the hut. 41 S

Later, their morning's devotions over,
they relaxed among the trees
fed on fond remembrances of persons
and places and racial myths. 416

And suddenly there was a disturbance
in the quiet wholesome air,
and they observed advancing towards them
a female dark and daring. 417

A Rakshasi, perhaps, from the jungle
fastness of Janasthana;
a creature of massive mould, with a mien
arresting and aggressive. 418

Sighting that handsome lion-limbed hero
lily-blue in complexion
and a head of glorious matted hair,
she visioned the God of Love. 419

Announcing her presence she said; “Know me
for Surpanakha, younger
sister of great Ravana, Lanka’s King;

and humans! who may you be?’’ 420

“I am King Dasaratha’s son, Rama’’
he said; “this, my wife Sita;
and here’s Lakshmana, my younger brother;
we’re forest-dwellers by choice.” 421

Stricken with instant infatuation
for the bewitching brothers,
she felt the stir of peremptory lust
and demanded compliance : 422

“Look on me, Rama, with a loving eye;

I am black but beautiful ;-
what have you to do with that pale creature?

You’re mine by right, let’s away!”

423

225 Panchavati

Rama was overtaken by surprise,
and merely exchanged glances
with Sita and Saumitri, as one caught
in a strange embarrassment. 424

Thinking that Rama was directing her
to unattached Lakshmana,
the demoness turned to him hopefully,
but he showed mere abhorrence. 425

Marking the strange mixture of amusement
and rejection in their looks,
the jealous Rakshasi, with blood-shot eyes,
leapt on terrified Sita. 426

But Lakshmana sprang up in her defence,
there was a brief fierce scuffle,
and with blood flowing from her nose and ears

Surpanakha fled howling. 427

Still in terror and trembling, Sita cast
a vague apprehensive glance
on the yelling and maddened Rakshasi’s
dishevelled receding form, 428

and gazed with gratitude at the panting
Saumitri, and met Rama’s
quizzical smile, and wondered wistfully

what the future had in store. 429

“It’s an ill omen, view it how you like,”
said Sita with grave concern ;

“my premonitions hiss like snakes, for this
incensed tigress means mischief.” 430

Rama gently answered: “We aren’t to blame,
she brought it all on herself ;
caught in the criss-cross of causality

let's hold ourselves in patience.” 431

Meantime Surpanakha s^ved as one mad
calling down imprecations
upon the humans who had rebuffed her,
and made for her brother’s place. 432

The imperious Khara held his Court
in Janasthana’s fastness,
while Dushana, Trisiras and others
were in constant attendance.

433

226 Sitayana

The bizarre entry of Surpanakha, —
wild-eyed, blood-dripping, cursing, —
caused much commotion in the Assembly
and Khara rose to inquire :

434

“Who’s it, Surpanakha? God, Gandharva,
ghoul, who has done this to you?

Hapless sister, only name the culprit,
and ril avenge this outrage.”

435

The fire of her fierce resentment, being
fed by Rama’s scorn and fanned
by Lakshmana’s chastisement and Sita’s
triumph, was ablaze sky-high.

436

Panting and fuming and shedding hot tears,
that Fury incarnate asked
for Sita’s, Rama’s and Lakshmana’s blood,
for thus must she quench her thirst !

437

Khara sent fourteen of his warriors,
and espying their approach,

Rama asked his brother to guard Sita
as she retired to a cave.

438

Brief was the struggle, for the veterans
succumbed to Rama's shafts, and
witnessing this outcome, Surpanakha
fled in dolour to Khara.

'439

Her horrendous howl and accusing taunts
stung her brother to order
general mobilisation and swing
into punitive action.

440

Heaving like the disturbed sea, the mighty
army led by Dushana,

Trisiras, Syenamali, Durjaya
marched towards Panchavati.

441

But lone, indomitable and immune
stood the rock-like Raghava,
and the Rakshasas who led the attack
were thrown ba^'-k wave upon wave.

442

Immense in his sole self-sufficiency

Rama faced the enemy —
whether fourteen or fourteen thousand strong! —
and outmatched the combined strength.

443

227 Panchavati

A scene with ominous implications :

here Sita safe in her cave
with the fully armed Lakshmana on guard ;
and there, beyond the clearing,

Surpanakha amid the trees watching,
waiting, wailing, despairing;
and the battlefield in between — Rama
against the Rakshasa hordes !

The gods hovered high above, the Rishis
in anxious groups held counsel,
and the whole earth like a plateau unfirm
tottered on its foundations.

For a sustained unrelieved span of time
Khara had held in ransom
the blessed Knights of the Light of Knowledge
and rujed Dandaka by fear.

From a distance, Ravana’s sovereignly
overflowed to Janasthana
where reigned the perversion of righteousness,
the paramountcy of Might.

Rama’s coming — once with Visvamitra
when, no more than a boy, he
killed the dreaded Tataka with a shaft,
and Subahu too, her son —

and now, as engineered by Kaikeyi,
the needed second coming
with Saumitri and Mithilan Sita,
attendant Power and Grace!

Portentous were the possibilities;

hopefully. Light’s renewal,
the decimation of the night rovers,
or —God forbid! — the false Dawn!

The menacing Rakshasa battalions,
their gorgeous pennons flying,
deployed in fourfold formation heavy
and ingenious armament:

not bows and arrows alone, but also
battle-axes, clubs, spears, swords:
and, at a pinch, even rocks came handy,
mountain-crests, uprooted trees!

228 Sitayana

From a thousand directions the assault
seemed to converge on Rama,
drown him under a shower of quick darts,
and make him invisible. 454

This unequal battle, with one bowman
pitted against so many,
elicited concern as well as praise
from the celestials above. 455

But as the Sun rises and the mists clear,

Rama's glory blazed again
and the attackers fell in heap after

heap, their weapons, mounts and all. 456

The gods, Siddhas, Charanas were intrigued :

was it magic or maya
that executed so infallibly

the doom of Khara’s forces? 457

The pennons and loud pageantry of war
were a sham and mockery ;
and repulsed Dushana, when he returned,
lost his arms, and then his life. 458

And still the battle raged in redoubled
fury, and the gory field
was a spread of the dead and the dying,
of broken mounts and weapons. 459

And others fell with precipitate speed
till the ranks of the gallant
commanders thinned, and only two were left:

Trisiras and brave Khara. 460

As seasoned Trisiras launched his attack,

Rama's sharp hissing missiles
intercepted him like a blast of death
and felled down the three-headed. 461

With Trisiras dead, Khara was the sole
dispenser, and felt burdened
by his importance and fatality :

‘twas only ^K41 or be killed!’ 462

Now alter some hot verbal, exchanges
Khara went all out to fight,
and in the bitter engagement hurled mace,
tree, whatever, came to hand.

463

229 Panchavati

But repulsed and hit, his body streaming
with blood, he charged on Rama,
who drew back and released a fatal dart
that ended his life at last.

While the observing celestials rejoiced
at the outcome, Rama rushed
to the cave, to be met by expectant
Lakshmana and Maithili.

There was Rama striding towards the cave,
his whole body dripping blood,
the hero who had single-handed faced
and destroyed Khara’s army.

Hadn’t she once taunted him in her anger
as woman in man’s disguise,
a paper-hero? Now she sprang forward
to greet her warrior-spouse.

In a leap of joy at seeing her Lord
in such triumphant array,

Sita seized his bruised glowing body,
and her touch wa*; b.dm to him.

And ‘twas transcendent joy indeed to her
that Rama’s great victory
won Jhe high acclaim of the gods above
and the ascetics around.

Canto 29 ; The Golden Deer

But already, from the dismal wreckage
of the battlefield, the sole
Rakshasa survivor, Akampana,

had hastened to Ravana. 470

The grim report of annihilation
of Khara’s armoured forces
threw the King into a fit of fury
spuming out instant revenge. 471

But Akampana warned against any
frontal attack, for Rama
was invincible ; ‘twould be wise to opt
for a subtler strategy : 472

"Rama dotes on his chaste young wife, Sita,
a beauty without a peer;
and were she carried away by deceit,
he would shrivel up and die.” 473

With alacrity Ravana agreed,
and seeking out Maricha - -
fell Tataka's son — begged him earnestly
for advice and assistance. 474

“Desist, O King!” urged Mancha, "from this
unbecoming adventure;

I've reason to know it's playing with fire :
go back to Lanka in peace!” 475

A commotion awaited Ravana
on his return to Lanka,
for Surpanakha had arrived just then
and was raging unrestrained 476

From her perch among the trees she had watched
in growing trepidation
the depletion and final destruction
of Khara’s army immense, 477

and this eclipse of her hopes of revenge
had thrown her into a swoon ;
reviving, and kindling her hate anew,
she had rushed to Lanka s King.

478

231 The Golden Deer

She was terrible to behold, for her
unfulfilled lust and revenge
gave a vicious twist to her messed-up face,
and she screeched and hissed and screamed. 479

She arraigned the mighty and haughty King
for his blind and slothful ease,
his indifference to affairs of State
and his gross self-indulgence. 480

His extensive dominion was shrinking,
his authority dying,

mere hymans were setting his writ at naught

and o’errunning his outposts. 481

She stopped in exhaustion, but in answer
to Ravana’s inquiry
waxed rhapsodic about Sita’s person

and Rama’s peerless prowess: 482

‘‘Sita is Rama'j Wiie «;nd she lights up
the woodlands of DaiiJaka,
even as the deathless indwelling soul
illuminates the body. 483

She's the ensemble oi i!l perfections,
her complexion purest gold;
her holyiess of beauty and fier>

chastity mark her sublime. 484

O King! 1 thought her worthy of your bed
and grabbed to bring her to you,
but Lakshmana grappled with me, released
Sita, and disfigured me. 485

Arise, O King, and seize fair Sita, and
shame Rama and Lakshmana :
revtfnge enough for the army you've ^ost

and^my owm mutilation!" 486

All Asuric nature feels allergic
to spiritual beauty,
and breeds an irresistible desire

. to enact desecration. 48'

Goodness is a pure gemlike tongue of flame
that blazons forth its challenge
and invites the denizens of the Dark
to a suicidal race.

488

232 Sitayana

Sita the angel fair, chaste and holy,
the Light of the wide world’s Life :
therefore the temptation, therefore the fall,
the succumbing to evil !

Wily Akampana had dropped the hint,
and far-seeing Maricha
had warned the King against the poison seed;
but now a sister’s prodding:

“This Sita isn’t like the routinely fair
you’ve oft collected before :

Sita, even like her handsome Rama,
signifies the Ultimate.

Her light-glancing steps make the earth feel blest
by the soft tread of her feet ;
the music of many sylvan voices
merges in her native speech.

Her rich flowing tresses are bewitching,
cloud-like dark, and rain-like too;
she’s a visitant here from far heaven,
a rare phantom of allure.

Her face has the sweet charm of the lotus ;

her eyes, deeper than the sea ;
her breasts, like twin cups of gold, body forth
the rapture of paradise.

How can I describe, O royal Brother,
what defies analysis?

Her beauty beyonds the categories
and strikes one both blind and dumb!

This unearthly marvel of a woman
who teases you out of thought
may be savoured only by possession —
arise, and claim your guerdon !’’

Evil-prone and lust-driven as he was,

Ravana reached for the bait,
and as though vowing ’Dark, be thou my Light!’
perfected his strategy.

He lost no time, and his swift chariot
flew him to Maricha’s nook,
but o'ercoming his shock and awesome fear,
the seasoned Rakshasa said :

233 The Golden Deer

“O mighty King! what’s this insanity?

Did I not warn you before?

Years ago, and while still a boy, Rama
killed my mother Tataka —

aye, the one whose name rumbled like thunder
in Dandaka’s wide spaces —
and killed brother Subahu, and cast me
hundred Yojanas beyond.

And still I learnt nothing, and persisted
in my cannibalistic

blasphemies, and roamed in the forest main
mingling with the sharp-horned stags.

Years later, when they were exiles themselves,
once I rushed upon Rama,
and again his dart helped me flee its wrath
and take refuge in this place.

Since tKat act of Grace, I’m not what I was,

I recoil fropi the old lusts,

I respect Sita and her chastity,
and see Rama everywhere.

O King, trifle not wi^h divine Sita,
nor the supermen, Rama
and Lakshmana, lest total destruction
submerge the Rakshasa clan.”

Having heard with a scowl, Ravana said :

“I need no counsel but help;
decoy the brothers as a golden deer —

I’ll seize her and come away.”

Feeling half-dead almost, Maricha moaned •
“Those that are to be destroyed,

O my King, are stricken with madness first ;

*I see you’re beyond reason.

Twide has great Rama spared me already,
now let me die at his hands;
but this will mean catastrophic ruin
for the Rakshasas — and you!”

Contented with Maricha’s acquiescence,
Ravana invited him
into his car which now sped in the air
to the woods of Dandaka.

234 Sitayana

Alighting near Rama’s Ashrama grounds,
Maricha transformed himself
into a dream-made gem-inlaid golden
deer, and frisked about freely.

The deer was a ravishing pied beauty
and marvellous to behold ;
its body a synthesis of Nature’s
graceful lines, hues and rhythms.

As it gambolled in seeming abandon,
the splendour of its body
and the speed of its movements lighted up
and quite enlivened the woods.

And Sita saw, while gathering flowers,
this marvel of creation
and drew Rama’s as well as Lakshmana’s
gaze to the wonderful deer.

A glance was enough, and Lakshmana said
“This is but old Maricha
in disguise, who used to haunt the forest
and persecute the Rishis,”

Enamoured Vaidehi, however, spoke
with feeling: ‘This enchants me,
for nowhere have I seen such seduction,
such brilliance, such golden fur.

O let me have it, my Lord, for a pet,
for a creature of delight;
and even the skin of this shining deer
Avill be a rare souvenir.”

And Rama felt the fascination too:

“Real or witchcraft, this deer
captivates the eye — no wonder Sita’s
heart has been bewitched by it.

No matter, Lakshmana : I’ll get the deer
alive or dead — but stay here,
and keep guard o’er Sita till I return ;
and there’s Jatayu, besides.”

Rama then saurtered forth with a winged
step, and sword, bow and arrows;
but as he pursued the ravishing deer,
it seemed to play hide and seek.

235 The Golden Deer

Farther and deeper into the forest
it lured him, so close always
yet so elusive, inaccessible,
so deft, so tantalising.

Now as the scintillating wonder-deer
continued to tease and trick
the panting Rama, he decreed its death
and released a fiery shaft.

Exploding like thunder, the great missile
hit the deer, lifted it high,
and hurled it down with a deafening crash,
now in its Rakshasa form.

But ere he expired indeed, Maricha
of mountainous dimensions
simulated Rama’s voice as he cried:

''Ah Sila! ah Lakshmana!”

Rama* remembered Lakshmana’s warning,
saw deceit in Maricha’s
dying wail, and felt a nameless unease
about the consequences.

And, indeed, the fal^>e -leer's heart-rending cry
threw Sita into a fit,

and she urged Lakshmana to go in search
of his endangered brother.

But Lakshmana didn’t stir, being aware
of Maricha’s sorceries;
and could he, remembering Rama’s word,
leave Maithili defenceless*^

Marking his disobedience, Maithili
lost her head altogether
in her concern for Rama, and spoke words
* like scalding sulphurous fires:

"What’s this, Saumitri, you seem to rejoice
in Rama’s extremity !

Your brotherly solicitude, a show?

Or, are you Bharata’s spy?

Perhaps you have evil thoughts towards me,

O insufferable one!

Having had Rama as my Lord and God,
where is another for me?

236 Sitayam

I’ll take poison, or hang myself, or leap
into the ravenous hre;
or I’ll seek ready release by plunging
into the Godavari!”

‘Twas hell for Lakshmana to see Sita,
her eyes ablaze with anger,
her body a heap of shivers and tears,
her mind seething in turmoil.

But ‘twas worse to hear her pitiless words,
her burning accusations;
and she wasn’t calm enough to think about
Rama’s freedom from danger.

In deep anguish he said: “My obeisance
to you, the Divine in you;
although you now talk like a wild woman,
I’ll not answer but forget.

I’ll go to Rama, since that is your wish :

may the Gods look after you,
for the omens 1 see are frightening,
and I’m full of forebodings.”

Sita was the image of misery
as sad Saumitri withdrew,
and still he cast anxious backward glances
while moving away from her.

Canto 30; The Abduction of Sita

With Lakshmana chased away, Sita was
alone in the hermitage :
this was the chance Ravana had schemed for,
and this was his tryst with Doom.

Assuming with cunning and contrivance
a sage ascetic’s disguise —
watef'bowl, triple staff, ochre-raiment —
he approached the Ashrama.

Nature seemed to feel the intimations
of the evil invasion,
a graveyard silence lay like a pallid
cloak* over the hermitage,

the Godavari*flowed uncertainly
as if psychically hurt,
and Ravana’s blasphemous presumption
sent a tremor through the earth.

Supporting his vile impersonation
by reciting the Veda,
he approached the apprehensive Sita
and made pressing inquiries;

"Who are you, bride of forest loneliness,
flame-born attired in saffron,
decked with choicest flowers and bewitching
with eyes that enchant at once?

Are you a nymph descended from heaven,

, the sum of all perfections,
every limb its own archetype, 0 gieat soul
of modesty, heir of grace!

O ravisher of transcendent beauty,
aren’t you the Goddess of Love
enslaving beholders with your smile, eyes,
tresses, teeth, thighs, breasts, nipples?

This nook is not the place for you, nor can
this seclusion become you;
you deserve the splendours of princely life,
palaces and pleasances.

238 Sitayana

Paradigm of youth and beauty and love,
how were you lost among these
untamed occupants of Janasthana —
demons, tigers, elephants?”

More and more uneasy at the tenor
of the speech, she was also
mindful of her Dharma as a housewife,
and asked him to take his seat.

While she went through the motions of formal
welcome to the guest, Sita
awaited anxiously the safe return
of Rama and Lakshmana.

The nearer Ravana came to Sita
the fire-icon of Beauty,
his desire raged the more, and he resolved
to seize and take her away.

Unaware of her guest's identity
or duplicity, Sita
in her innocence told her history,
of her marriage to Rama,

of Kaikeyi's ruse to get him exiled,
and the rest of the story;
and Sita in turn asked her guest about
his nume and antecedents.

Now he saiil without more ado: ‘T am
Ravana, Lord of Lanka,
dreaded by all; my women are nothing
compared to you whom 1 love.

Come with me to Lanka, girt by the seas
and nestling on a mountain :
become my Chief Queen, O beautiful one,
and end this harsh forest life.”

The words stung her, and she flared up like an
infuriated cobra :

'‘Rama, my Lord and my God, is the cream
of human excellences.

What criminal presumption, what folly,
to lust after Rama's wife!'

Such a paragon as R ’ma to you,
as Lion to a jackal.

239 The Abduction of Sita

as the wide ocean to a mere trickle,
as pure gold to base iron,
as the royal elephant to a cat,

as rarest sandal to mire. 554

I am not isolable from Rama,
for myself, myself, am he :
and Rama is elemental Power,

and endless benevolence. 555

Oh you desire me? As well seize the Sun,
pluck the hill-top, walk on pikes,
prick vour eye with a needle, lick a blade,
or drain a cup of poison!"

She trembled all over as she finished
speaking, like a plantain leaf
tossed by the wind; but Ravana only
ravec^in self-praise as before.

He boasted oi his air-car, Pushpaka,
of the terroV in which all
Nature held him, of his Lanka City
and its riches manifold.

How small in comparison was Rama:

wasn't he an exiled weakling?
a feckless mendicant? Ravana's thumb
was mightier than Rama!

Still fuming with anger, Sita replied:

''You are Varuna’s brother,
yet wish to do evil, which must destroy
the entire Rakshasa race.

It is easier far, O treacherous one,
to wrest Sachi from Indra
than me from Rama, for though ycu might quafif

nectar. Death will seize you still." 561

Reacting to Sita's open disdain,

Ravana shed his disguise,
waxed huge in his native Rakshasa shape,

• and loomed fearful to behold. 5^'7

Once more he boasted of his immense strength
and variety of exploits,
of the greater joy she would find in him
than in the worthless Rama.

556

557

558

559

560

563

240 Sitayana

Then in frenzied hurry, with his left hand
he seized Sita by her braid
and with his right hand carried her by force
to his waiting chariot. 564

Mother Earth and all Nature felt the wound,
the sylvan Presences fled,
and the humped silence of the Ashrama
was shattered by Sita’s cries. 565

What’s this worse than devastating disease,
this aberration called lust,
that seems able to turn the afflicted
into their own enemies ! 566

First Surpanakha, with her violence
of desire for Rama, makes
a peremptory claim, and seeks instant

fulfilment, and is repulsed. 567

In the fury of her unquenched desire,
she turns against Maithili,
and provokes the backlash of chastisement,
and even disfigurement. 568

For one Surpanakha inflamed with lust,
fourteen thousand have to die
on the gory fields of Janasthana
stained with the ascetics’ blood. 569

The demon-sister, her thirst for revenge
unassuaged but in league
with the still consuming lust for Rama,
turns promptly to her brother. 570

Lust and revenge thus act on each other
and extend their dominion :
violence lays waste the garden of Life,
and lust the flowers of Love! 571

The sacrifice of the fourteen thousand
doesn’t deter Surpanakha
from initiating another sortie

into forbidde.i pastures. 572

By her report, Ravana feels possessed
and moves with rapidity
from the thought of avenging the fallen
to lusting after Sita.

573

24 1 The Abduction of Sita

Too long a slave to his evil passions,
self-adoring Ravana
can forget all ties of State and kinship,
and forge his own disaster.

574

He sheds no tear for Maricha’s demise
but seizes the proffered time
to play his cunning and cowardly act
and carry Sita away.

575

Even thus adamantine Fate nooses
the formidable Titan

with the gnawing creepers of his own lust
and encompasses his doom!

576

Canto 31: Jatayu

But for the nonce, ail foul was waxing strong,
the Thief was getting away
with Sita wailing dolefully aloud
feeling abandoned and lost. 577

She gave out piercing screams calling upon
'Rama! Rama!’, and the name
resounded in the woods, while already
the chariot rose above. 578

Thus driven to the brink of stark despair,
she raised her voice still higher
and cried; “Ah Lakshmana, I didn’t heed you.

I’m being carried away.

Can this be, O Rama, 0 Lakshmana !

is there no swift punishment,

O upholders of Dharma! It may be,
retribution comes with time !

Kaikeyi may now feel joy in my woe,
but O foolish Rakshasa,
this is verily the seed-time for your
destruction at Rama’s hands.

As the car speeds on, all Janasthana
seems to race back in a whirl :

O Godavari, O Prasravana,

O you gods of the forest,

0 you sylvan spirits and guardians
of the Dandaka forest,

O you birds, beasts, trees, creatures all, report
my misery to Rama!” 583

Now it came like a stab of memory,
the nightmare that had rocked her
in Mithila, when the hooded serpent
reached for the innocent dove. 584

How uncannily that murderous act
had warned her of things to come:
and was there hope of instant rescue from
the hydra-headed monster?

579

580

581

582

585

243 Jatayu

Yes, an eagle or a vulture, she thought,
might give ferocious battle
to the mighty hydra-like Ravana,
and effect her own release!

Now espying Jatayu on a tree,
but knowing his age, Sita
begged him not to give fight to Ravana,
but inform Rama in time :

“O you most revered Vulture, Jatayu,
mark this infamous outrage
by the unspeakable Rakshasa King —
tell Rama about my plight.”

Awakened from his doze, the Vulture took
the situation at once
and appealed to Ravana to refrain
from his outrageous intent :

“I speak as Kmg to King, and she you have
forcibly seized is ihe wife
of Rama, Ayodhya's King: you’re to help,
not molest, another’s wife.

Remember, a King is ti^e sustenance
and source of moral action,
and his example decides how the mass
of his people will behave.

Your current conduct errs against Dharma
and calls for condemnation;
and not all your past good deeds can save you
from the wages of this sin.

When did Rama injure you? And as for
Khara, he went in support
pf vengeful Surpanakha, and thereby
drew red ruin on himself.

But I warn you, Ravana, having sown
the wind, you’ll reap the whirlwind ;
your action is like grasping a serpent, —
verily the Noose of Death !

What, you wouldn’t listen? No, you shall not pass
I’m old and feeble, you’re strong
and armed; I’ll light you yet and bar your flight
to Lanka with Rama’s Queen.”

244 Sitayana

This plain-speaking by Jatayu inflamed
the impatient Ravana,
who was in no mood for words of wisdom
or timely admonition. 596

Forthwith, from his seat in his car, he launched
a vigorous offensive

raining fast-speeding darts with iron tips
inflicting many a wound. 597

On his part, Jatayu, King of Birds, fought
back with terrific menace
deploying his deadly talons to cause
massive hurt to Ravana. 598

The Rakshasa renewed his offensive,
but Jatayu defied him

and smashed with his feet the bejewelled bow
of his mighty opposite. 599

Thus clashed they like fierce wind and massive cloud
with the attendant lightning
and thunder; and still the Rakshasa charged,
and still the Bird held his own. 600

Shaking off the swarms of shafts, Jatayu
battered the air-car, and killed
the adroit charioteer as also

the swift and seasoned horses. 601

Losing these supports, Ravana jumped down
with Sita still in his grip,'
and continued the fight with Jatayu
as if to a bitter end. 602

Viewing the King of Birds at close quarters
and judging him exhausted,

Ravana would have gladly flown away,
but Jatayu blocked his path. 6C3

A fierce engagement followed, the King Bird
used his talons, beak and wings
to good effect, and pecked at and wounded
and disfigured Ravana. 604

Now, in an accession of rage and shame,
he freed himself from Sita,
engaged in a death-grapple with the Bird,
and cut off his wings and claws.

605

24^ Jatayu

Thus crippled by the cruel Rakshasa,

Jatayu fell in a heap
in a pool of blood, and stricken Sita
ran fast to his side and wept.

606

“Alas, calamity is heaped upon
calamity, “ Sita moaned;

“O my Rama, are you not still aware
of what has overtaken me?

607

Nature is a web of relationships,
and there are intimations
from bird-cries, movements of beasts, and other
stale everyday happenings.

608

Has nobody — nobody — reported
my tragic predicament?

And this heroic Bird too has fallen -
ah, such is my misfortune!”

609

Once m-ore the Rakshasa King grasped her plait,
lifted her trcmui-ng body,
took off with ’her from ihe ground to the sky,
and flew with maddening speed.

610

It seemed as if a blinding lightning-flash
had ripped a mountainous cloud;
or a raging fire consumed a hill-range;
or a comet sought its doom.

611

In this intimately interwoven
single-thread network, a jerk
anywhere causes tremors everywhere,
and there’s no insulation.

612

Ravana’s mad act of desecration,
a crime against the ancient
sanctities, smashed the cosmic symphony
•into a scream of chaos.

613

It was as though Nature’s sustaining Law
denied itself and blasphemed:
salt lost its savour for the nonce, water
froze, and darkness reigned at Noon.

614

The terrible spectacle of Sita,
her hair dishevelled, her voice
hoarse crying ‘O Rama, Rama, Rama,’
her sweat melting her tilak ;

615

246 Sitayam

Nature felt shamed and paralysed by this
horror of the lecherous
Ravana making off with Maithili
defying the universe ! 616

Now alarmed that she was being carried
farther and farther away,

Sita addressed Ravana yet once more,
and mounted her indictment : 617

“Deceitful and cowardly Ravana!

having first decoyed Rama
with the deer and Lakshmana by its cry,
you came when I was alone. 618

'Twas all baseness, magic and trickery,
and now you’ve struck down the Bird,
the aged friend of King Dasaratha —
this is not prowess at all ! 619

Where’s heroism in your snatching away
another’s wife, or killing
the aged, or evading a straight fight
with Rama and Lakshmana? 620

Where’s your vaunted courage? You seem afraid
to stop, lest the two Princes
return, give fight and fatally pierce you
with their invincible darts. 621

Aye, to be seen by them even would cause
your instantaneous collapse,

0 Ravana, — like a hapless bird caught

in a blazing forest fire I 622

And banish all thought of my agreeing,
for I’ll sooner die; and mark
what I say : I see grim Death tightening
round your neck his fateful noose I 623

1 warn you, Ravana, the universe
will take up arms against you,

the leaves of the forest will Income swords,
and rivers will flow with blood.” 624

And so MaithiL writhed in Ravana’s
fiendish grip, and as he raced,
her admonishings and lamentations
merged with her corses and tears.

625

247 Jatayu

But marking on the way a mountain-top
where she saw four Vanaras
huddled, she dropped among them her jewels
tied up with her shoulder sash. 626

She hoped the Vanaras would give Rama
this evidence of her flight,
and as Ravana was too self-absorbed,
he didn’t notice her action. 627

The bundle fell in their midst, but before
the Vanaras could give chase,
the Rakshasa had gone past hill and lake,
and vanished into the air. 628

Meanwhile the obsessed Ravana sped on
heading fast towards Lanka
flying on the way o’er the Pampa lake,
and forests, hills and rivers. 629

Like a'shaft fr'^ra a bow, Ravana flew,
and the seething southern sea
with its whales, crocodiles and foaming waves
loomed ominously ahead. 630

Ginto 32: Rama Disconsolate

While Sita was terror and tears, a tom
leaf buffeted in a storm:
in the far Dandaka interior

Rama was in deep anguish. 631

The deer’s eerie dying cry made him fear
that mistaken Maithili

might drive Lakshmana to his brother’s help,
leaving herself defenceless. 632

Maricha’s wizard-act, his decoy feat,
his impersonating cry,
all added up to a conspiracy

meant to trick and trap Sita. 633

As Rama, greatly concerned, took quick strides
homeward, a jackal’s weird howl
threw him almost ^to desperation,
and he had wry misgivings. 634

He feared the worst, for the Janasthana
titans had reasons enough
for enmity, — had he not quite destroyed
the Khara-Dushana hosts? 635

He quickened his steps, and the forest beasts
nestled sadly around him*,
and the birds circled over, emitting
a chorus of doleful notes. 636

And he saw Lakshmana at a distance,
and on his face there was death:
misery met the miserable, and

guilt and guilt met face to face. 637

In their fatality of misery
they hurled recriminations;
and caught in twists of perverse circumstance,
they felt trapped, cheated and lost. 638

Rama blamed his brother for deserting
Sita, and Laksnmana could
only cite Sita’s peremptory fear;
and the two wailed together.

639

249 Rama Disconsolate

Lakshmana wearily explained: “ ‘Go, go!’

Sita repeatedly urged,
accused me of indifference or worse,
and threatened to kill herself. 640

I pleaded you were invulnerable —
the Voice an imitation —
the whole act a fraud and a snare! — yet she
ordered I should look for you.” 641

“Alas, Saumitri!” Rama made reply;

“that was a frenzied woman’s
outburst; you should have ignored it, and not
succumbed to anger yourself.” 642

They had by now reached the Ashrama grounds
and they searched frantically
without and within, but to their distress

she v/as nowhere to be found. 643

Rama felt distracted, bis left eye throbbed,
a paralysis of will

seized him, he made spasmodic moves, he wept
thinking about Sita’s fate

Lakshmana shadowed his stricken brother,
and as they looked for Sita,
now in the Grove, now near the lotus pool,
and now at the forest-fringe,

everywhere they found Nature in a swoon,
the birds silent, the flowers
dull and drooping, the beasts sullen and sour,
and the whole landscape frigid.

And Rama, in an explosion of grief
.and pain, rushed from tree to tree
or from pool to hill or bird to river,
and asked for news of Sita.

The kadamba, arjuna, asokc
kakubha, karnikara,

,punnaga, kuravaka — ihQ distraught
Rama moved among them all,

as also the forest’s teeming fauna,
deer, elephant, bear, tiger,
and made pathetic inquiries mingling
fancy, fact and anxiety.

646

647

648

644

645

649

250 Sitayana

Receiving no answer from tree or beast,

Rama thought Sita had been
eaten by the cannibal Rakshasa,
or slaughtered and cast away.

Rama recalled Sita's thousand graces
of form, deportment and speech,
and his fevered consciousness imagined
dreadful possibilities —

how excruciating her sufferings were
as she was being devoured —
and blaming his own failure to guard her,
he wept inconsolably.

"Ah Lakshmana, what has happened to her?"

Raghava wailed piteously;

"whither has she gone abandoning me
and these grieving fawns, her friends?

The pangs of parting will drive me to die,
but what answer shall I give
when our Father asks why I haven’t fulfilled
my fourteen-year forest-life?

All eventualities we’ve exhausted,
yet Vaidehi we haven’t found;
my spirits droop, my functions seem to fail,
and my despair drives me mad."

The pitiful sight of Rama’s'anguish —
akin to an elephant’s

when stuck in a mire — unnerved Lakshmana,
and he tried the healing touch :

"An end, O mighty-armed, to this session
with dejection! All’s not lost,
there are places — caves, orchards, riversides —
still unvisited by us.

Perhaps she has gone for a bath, perhaps
she is just hiding from us;
let’s comb the forest with diligent care,
and, maybe, we’ll find her yet."

With revived hope they now renewed the search
and looked for lost Vaidehi
everywhere — in caves, on lakeside, hillside,
riverside, or wherever.

25 1 Rama Disconsolate

But when Sita was nowhere to be found,

Rama’s spirits drooped again,
he reeled under his burden of sorrow
and sank down shaken by sobs. 660

And all Lakshmana's acts of persuasion,
all his attempts to console
the stricken Rama, failed altogether,

for he only moaned and groaned: 661

'Ah Sita, you're hiding yourself from me -
perhaps behind the plantains,
or the Asoka or Karnikara —

but a truce to this teasing! 662

Yet no! she'll not let me suffer like this!

look, look at these deer, their eyes!
the tear-drops say Sita has been devoured

by the evil Rakshasas. 663

Where, wherw aic yen, O fair and noble one!

Can 1, covJard that I am,
go back to my Ayodhya without her,
or face her royal father? 664

For Queen Kaikeyi at least, this my date
with sorrow will be a time
of fulfilment; I don’t think I’ll return
to Bharata’s Ayodhya. 665

And Lakshmana, get back to the city,
for I'll not survive Sita;
yes, tell Bharata as from me, he's free
to rule the Kingdom for life. 666

Also, pay my obeisance to all three
mothers, and tell Kausalya
th'e news of Sita's end, and the reason

for my withdrawal from life.” 667

Thus wallowing in extreme misery,

Rama cursed the wretched fate
that piled up loss upon loss, and this worst

of all, the loss of Sita. 668

He lingered with excruciating detail
on the fright and pain and shame
that beautiful Sita would have suffered
before death overcame her.

669

252 Sitayana

Perhaps the Rakshasas, having carried
away Sita with her curls,
slit her neck at last and drank her blood while
she wailed like a wounded bird.

Lamenting the startling turn of events,

Rama wondered in his grief
whether he hadn’t sinned greatly in past lives,
and was now reaping the fruit.

Might it not be that Maithili, lover
of rivers, lakes and woodlands,
had strayed away somewhere? But Rama knew
she was too timid for that.

In his extremity, Rama queried
the Sun and the Wind whether,
travelling everywhere as they did, they
could give him news of Sita.

Finding Rama’s distress unbearable,
Lakshmana pleaded with him
not to lose heart but face difficulties
manfully and master them.

Like one distracted, however, Rama
begged his brother to find out
if Sita was at the Godavari
gathering the lotuses.

The errand was to prove unavailing,
and now they went together
and asked for news from the wild animals
of the Dandaka forest.

Neither they nor the Godavari would
reveal what they had witnessed,
for they were scared of the Rakshasa King
and of his fierce reprisals.

But when Rama repeated his request
(for he thought they knew the truth),
the forest denizens unitedly
made a mean ngful gesture.

In solemn silence they rose .together,
and their agonised eyes arched
from the sky above lo the earth below,
and pointed towards the South.

253 Rama Disconsolate

Reading the message, the brothers turned south,
and on the way saw faded
flowers on the path which Kakutstha knew
Sita had worn earlier. 680

While they were closely pursuing the trail,

Rama caught sight of foot-prints
signifying a harsh struggle between
Sita and the Rakshasa. 681

Looking intently, the brothers could see
that a fierce battle had raged
between two warriors, for broken bows

and arrows lay on the ground. 682

There were other tell-tale vestiges too :

a shattered war chariot,
the fallen asses and charioteer,

the torn flag and umbrella. 683

•

These pictureso^ac nnd dismal reminders
of a sanguinary fight
and the thought of Sita’s possible death
threw Rama into a rage, 684

his customary poise Icsei ced him,
and turning to Lakshmana,
he threatened to destroy the worlds unless
Sita was restored to him. 685

In that stance of an avenging Fury,
he glared and glowed like Rudra
ready for the tasks of dissolution,
the destruction of all norms. 686

But Lakshmana gently interceded,
spoke fair and convincingly,
and pleaded for calm-reflection, followed
by seasonable action. 687

“Is it wise,” asked Saumitri, “to deny
your softer human nature
and desire the destruction of a world
for just one criminal deed? 68^

The ground shows traces of a bitter fray,
but of a lone chariot :

‘tis clear there was but one culprit — let’s not
lose our sense of proportion.

689

254 Sitayana

Is it at all likely that either god,

Gandharva or Danava
would find delight in your discomfiture,
or cause you an injury? 690

Let’s continue the search in all quarters
and identify the thief
who carried Maithili away — and then,
swift punishment can follow.” 691

“Do not forget, O Prince,” begged Lakshmana
firmly clasping Rama’s feet,

“as King Dasaratha’s son you become
an example to others. 692

You told Bharata at Chitrakuta
that what the Raghu race did
would be cited as classic norms by folks
in all the ages to come. 693

If even you, Raghava, will not show
restraint, how about the rest?

Rebuffs are the badge of the human tribe,
but restraint is Wisdom’s way. 694

Who hasn’t tasted the wormwood. Misfortune?

Hasn’t Yayati? Vasishta?

Doesn’t our Mother herself, the Earth-Goddess,
know periodic tremors? 695

There’s none in all the worlds who can defy
the Ordainer of Order;
and the Sun and Moon, the givers of light,

must suffer eclipse sometimes. 696

The chain of causation, the Karmic Law,
has an adamantine cast,
and who is immune from its tentacles —
no, not great Indra himself. 697

Past and present and future are a web
of delicately woven

threads of complex inter-relationships,
and there’s no ready escape. 698

All this you’ve instructed me in times past,
for what’s it you do not know?

But just now you seem to be in a daze,
and so I’ve ventured to speak.

699

255 Rama Disconsolate

I appeal to you, Rama, think again,
restrain your towering rage:
it’s the sinner we should destroy, and not
the innocent triple worlds.”

Won over by Saumitri’s reasoning,

Rama contained his anger,
and the two started the search in earnest
looking for clues on the way.

And they came upon the gigantic form
of the fallen Jatayu,
and mistaking it for Sita’s killer,

R?ma seized his bow and shaft.

But dying Jatayu spoke to the point:

“Sita the lady you seek
has been carried away by Ravana,
and he has killed me as well.

Singly*! gave fight to the Rakshasa,
threw hinj down and smashed his car,
but he cut my wings, dealt a mortal blow,
and flew away with Sita.”

The revelation caus .d r ain and remorse
to Rama, who now cast off
his bow and fell on the footpath where lay
the majestic Jatayu.

Embracing the Vulture King, Rama cursed
his own fate for the series
of losses : the Kingdom first, then Sita,
and now last, his Father’s Friend.

The brothers fondly stroked Jatayu’s limbs
so awesome and gory still,
and Rama sought from the dying Vukure
more details of the outrage.

His life fast ebbing away, Jatayu
described in feeble Accents
Ravana’s crime of flying with Sita
towards the southern ocean.

But the King of Birds added that the time
of the flight was auspicious
for Rama the l-;ser, and disastrous
for the guilty Ravana.

256 Sitayana

But before he could say more or divulge
the whole truth about the flight,

Jatayu breathed deeply, and breathed his last,
and his soul left his body.

In the death ef Jatayu, the Brothers
lived through their revered Father’s
passing once again, for the two great Kings
had been allies and good friends.

‘Alas!” sighed Rama, almost breaking down,
for death levels everything;

‘This mighty Vulture rushed to Ska’s help,
and fighting, lay down his life.

With this act of noble self-sacrifice
Jatayu covers himself

with glory, and shows how the soul of good
can reign in all forms of life.

Loyalty and goodness and compassion,
the readiness to defend
the injured and insulted, ennoble
even birds, beasts and the like.

With his alacrity in self-giving,

Jatayu elicits my

reverence, and it is meet we perform
his funeral obsequies.

So may the righteous soul of the Monarch
of the Sky’s inhabitants
rise in his native right to the highest
heaven of transcendent bliss.”

Lakshmana gathered the needed firewood
and made the funeral pyre,
while Raghava cremated Jatayu’s
body in the blazing fire.

Then the worthy grief-stricken brothers made
the prescribed burnt-offerings
of deer’s flesh to the dear departed soul
speeding its heavenward flight.

Next they both offered water libation.;

on the Godavari’s banks;
and, after bathing, libations also
to Jatayu’s ancestors.

257 Rama Disconsolate

The Brothers weren’t by Dasaratha’s side
when he died in Ayodhya,
and had missed the obsequies, and had failed
to offer their libations. 720

It solaced them now that they could both watch
the Vulture King’s last moments
and perform his final rites — he had been
a second Father to them. 721

Canto 33 : Kabanda and Sabari

Having performed Jatayu’s obsequies
with a filial concern,

the Princes with faith in the Bird-King’s words
renewed their quest in the woods. 722

They waded through the dense jungle finding
their way with difficulty,
and fully armed with bow, arrow and sword
they journeyed south-westerly. 723

Passing a darkened mountain-cave, they saw
a repulsive Rakshasi
of enormous size and meancing mien
engaged in devouring beasts. 724

Noticing Lakshmana who walked in front,
she seized him with aggressive
hut and announced: “I am Ayomukhi;
let’s love and have a good time.” 725

Giving no second thought, the disgusted
Saumitri resisted her
causing hurt to the iron-face and ears,
and she ran away howling. 726

As they pushed forward, evil forebodings
assailed Lakshmana about
the near future, and yet not affecting
the ultimate victory. 727

And sure enough, they stumbled soon after
on a dreadful colossus —
a grisly shape with mouth in the belly,
and with neither neck nor head. 728

From something like his solitary eye
blazed a cone of baleful fire;
he roared, and his long arms like tentacles
held the brothers in a vice. 729

The warrior-brothers felt paralysed
for the nonce, and Lakshmana,
resigned to his fate, wanted that at least
Rama should make his escape.

730

259 Kahanda and Sabari

Rama too was sore that the whirligig
of Time threw up reverses
unimagined, and even the best-armed
were but thistledowns sometimes. 731

Their drooping spirits revived, however,
and Lakshmana suggested
as a preemptive act the severance
of the arms from the body. 732

And so, before those murderous hands could
close upon them, Rama cut
the Rakshasa’s left arm and Lakshmana
the right, and thus freed themselves.

The debacle opened the Rakshasa’s
inner eye, and on learning
who his assailants were, he made humble
subnjission to the Princes:

“I was once known us Danu in heaven,
but brought ruin on myself
and became Kabanda the headless one,
the eater of animals.

1 was promised that whenever Rama
and Lakshmana dismembered
my arms, that would end the curse, and 1 would

regain my Danava self. 736

I beg you now to bum me on a pyre,
so ril shuffle off this coil
and win my true self; and I can also
be of assistance to you.” 737

They gathered shrivelled-up branches and twigs
and made the funeral pyre
ih a cave, and burnt Kabanda's body,
and his soul rose like a flame. 738

Reappearing in his effulgent form,
he advised Rama to seek
the friendship of Vanara Sugriva,
for that would lead to Sita. 739

It was wise in times of adversity
to reach a firm alliance
with one likewise victimised, for two hurts
might mutually heal both.

733

734

735

740

260 Sitayana

Sugriva, deprived of both crown and wife
by Vali, his own brother,
was in hiding on Rishyamukha Hill;

Rama would find a friend there. 741

Vali was the mighty Vanara Chief
of prosperous Kishkindha,
and his Queen was the virtuous Tara
the mother of Angada. 742

Endowed with valour indomitable,

Vali had killed Asura
Dundubhi with a wild buffalo’s shape
itching always for a fight. 743

Chasing his son, Mayavi, underground
in a fight to a finish,

Vali had left Sugriva to keep guard
at the gateway to the stairs. 744

But later, when blood came up from below,
he thought that Vali was dead,
went back to Kishkindha, and crowned himself
King of all the Vanaras. 745

Twas really Mayavi’s blood that had surged,
and so Vali, returning,

charged Sugriva with treason, and chased him
out of the Vanara haunts.

Vali seized Ruma too, his brother’s wife,
and so hapless Sugriva
had to take refuge with four followers
in the Hill sanctuary.

This wild and obsessive brother-hatred,
the incestuous seizure
and possession of Ruma, had branded
Vali with a double sin.

The Vali that had once noosed in his tail
Ravana the Rakshasa

and winged him round and round the earth as of

insect insignificance, 749

the same Vanara King, albeit Indra’s
emanation, had become
the sworn ally of the King of Lanka,
the enemy of the gods.

746

747

748

750

261 Kabanda and Sabah

Thus the ally Rama needed was not
proud Vali but the steady
Sugriva, for he too had lost his wife,
and was both truthful and brave.

He would be a dependable, mature
and resourceful ally, and
the Vanaras could scatter themselves, and
locate Maithili’s abode.

Then the resplendent Danu gave details
of the route to Kishkindha —
westward through a wood of fruit-giving irees,
and on to the Pampa Lake.

In that delectable region, dowered
with lotus, lily, osprey,

swan, and Nature’s plenty, there was the famed

Ashrama of Matanga.

•

The place war. still maintained by Sabari
the old woman ascetic
who awaited the coming of Rama
for her date with the Divine.

Eastward beyond the Lake lay flower-clad
Rishyamukha the steep mount,
a hallowed place quite insulated from
unrighteous thoughts and actions.

In a cave in the mountain, difficult
of access, lived Sugriva
and his chosen four Vanaras: and there
lay Rama’s hope of success.

Having thus advised Rama, the haloed
Danu took leave of him, and
the Brothers, their spirits buoyed up, began
their trek to the Pampa Lake.

t

Following Danu’s precise instructions,
the exiles wended westwaid
finding rest on the hills during the nights
• till they sighted Pampa’s shores.

First they called on the hoary Sabari,
for whom this was the crowning
moment of her sadhana: ecstatic,
she offered them obeisance.

26? Sitayana

Rama made friendly inquiries about
her progress in inner peace,
and she answered that his vouchsafed Presence
was her life’s consummation.

761

Her Gurus had left earlier; she too
would now trail them to heaven.

She then fed her guests divine with the fruits
she had lovingly preserved.

762

Sabari then showed the Princes around
the blessed Matanga’s Wood,
where all remained as fresh and radiant
as when the Rishis had lived.

763

The genius of the elected place
retained the spiritual
fervour and electric charge of the chants
and the Gurus’ mystic glow.

764

Sabari showed also the wondrous spot
where the seven sacred seas
met and mingled together answering
the aged ascetics’ need.

765

Wonders were many in Matanga’s Wood :

the tiger and deer were friends;
all Nature’s opulence was native there —

'twas an earthly paradise.

766

Breathing that ambience of freedom, and
her life’s aim fulfilled at last,

Sabari resolved to leave her body,
and firmly entered the fire.

767

The sight of Sabari’s ascent from Earth
filled their pure minds with delight,
and feeling sure of better times to come
the Brothers renewed their ouest.

. 768

As if to forget the incessant pain
of the cruel severance
from Sita his beloved, Rama mused
on the sainted Sabari.

769

The exiles were walking slowly eastward
past the Pampa as advised
by Kabanda, and each was in his own
world of tense introspection.

770

263 Kabanda and Sabari

And now Raghava turned to his brother
and began speaking his mind:

‘"Saumitri, what an allegory here,
this marvellous Sabari !

Here was the paradigm of askesis,
all the ardour and the faith,
all the painstaking process and the goal, —
the Bhakta greater than God!

The glories of birth are nothing, less than
nothing; what alone matters,
the key lo the rest, is sincerity,
the act of consecration.

She was a daughter of the wooded hills,
unlettered, uninstructed,
but her raw soul was still the genuine thing,
and ajspired for God alone.

She sought Rjslii Matantra and his peers,
and they found in her a Pearl
of the purest white, and she made her life
a song of adoration.

When the raw but the authentic ripens
o'er a period of time
into the richest fruit, it's now ready
at last for the living God!

Rishi Matanga had asked Sabari
to await my arrival :

O Saumitri, how does my luckless self
come into their history?"

The answer came: “Doesn't it seem strange. Ram
that so many — one after
another: the unseen Ahalya first;

Vij-adha the Gandharva;

Sarabanga, Kabandha, Sabari :

all these and more were waiting
for you to walk their way and sanctify
the earth, and liberate them.

No self-deception, no mean flattery,
no hallucination, these!

Ahalya did indeed rise before us,
and we made our obeisance.

264 Sitayana

Yes, with the evidence of the other
rare apocalyptic scenes,
how may I doubt that some unseen power
is somehow pointing our ends? 781

We see but smallish patches at a time,
and enslaved as we are by
the deceptive present, the synoptic
Vision is denied to us.” 782

And Rama said after a prolonged pause :

“There’s something in what you say,

O Saumitri, and let’s hope Time will now
swing in our favour once more.” 783

book: four

Canto 34 ; Ravana’s Lanka

Having seized Sita with an exercise
of low cunning and deceit,
choosing the time contrived when both Rama
and Lakshmana were away,

and having fought, disabled and cast down
Jatayu the vulture-king,

Ravana flew over land, lake, mountain
and the deep southern ocean.

And lugging the miserable Sita
raining tempestuous tears,
he reached his well-guarded Lanka at last
and rushed to the gynaeceum.

Whatever the labour and the hazard,
the glorious prize was his !

Alas, ’twas rib woman, but his own Death
he had grasped and taken home!

Setting down the discun‘.<>late Sita,

Ravana promptly summoned
a team of trained ogresses and left her
in their circumscribing care.

“Honour and serve her,” he told them firmly,
“even as you would myself ;
let her have anything she wants — clothing,
food, jewellery, gems or gold.

Death's the answer if you offend by word
or deed, or cause her annoy;
but beware! let none presume to meet her
•unless permitted by me.”

For<i while leaving Sita to herself
enringed by the wardresses,

Ravana called eight of his smartest spies
and gave precise instructions :

“Make haste to Janasthana, spy upon
Rama my foe number one;
maneuver all devices to entrap
the brothers, and bring me word.

268 Sitayana

Single-handed, as you know, this Rama
struck down Khara, Dushana,

Trisiras and fourteen thousand of our

Dandaka-based Rakshasas.

10

No peace for me so long as Rama can
wield his bow invincible,
or loyal Lakshmana stands sentinel ;
the Brothers must be destroyed!”

11

In the meantime, relieved of the hateful

Rakshasa’s proximity
and unmindful of the environing
brood of foul demonesses.

12

Sita recalled the magnificent sights
she saw through the film of tears,
the hill-top city, the broad streets, the spires,
the tall buildings, the gardens.

13

As the Rakshasa made the steep descent,
how the spectacle made her
think of the years, now grown hazy, at fair

Ayodhya and Mithila!

14

So she was in the City of Lanka
in Ravana’s sea-girt isle,
and separated from Rama her Lord
and the loyal Lakshmana.

15

Her burning eyes wandered about the Hall,
and a sense of revulsion
caused a tremor in all her shrinking limbs
as she viewed the wardresses.

16

How long this shame and sorrow, she wondered;

but surely her mighty Lord
who laid Parashurama low would now
break through Lanka’s defences.

17

Once more she reviewed the ghastly sequence
of events: the golden deer,
the chase, the cry — her panic and frenzy —
and the false ascetic’s swoop !

18

“O the frailty of Woman!” she mumbled;

she had inferred treachery .
in the blameless Saumitri, but welcomed
the deceitful anchorite’

19

269 In Ravana 5 Lanka

She had once presumed to advise Rama
himself, but had been bewitched
by gold and ochre, thought the false was true,
and the purest truth was false!

Even as she was cursing her folly
in the entire transaction,
with remorse for her words to Saumiiri
and contempt for Ravana

and surge of gratitude for Jatayu’s
gesture risking his own life,
there stormed into the Hall with a flourish
the giddy Rakshasa King.

He found her weeping still, and she had spurned
all offers of gifts of clothes,
jewels and delicacies; and indeed

she remained unreconciled.

•

Shaken by her .oh.., she was a frail boat
tossed by the wind in the sea ;
and she trembled as might a strayed gazelle
pursued by a pack of hounds.

“Let me show her my aggregated wealth,"
thought Ravana, "and also
the impressive fagade of my power,
and the glories of my State."

And so he took her by main force around
his spacious palace complex,
and let her see heaps of clothes and jewels,
pearls, rubies and diamonds.

And he made her see his high-arching Halls
with pillars of ivory,

mosaic floors inlaid with the richest gems,
and walls and windows of gold.

He showed the pleasances too, the arbours
manifold, the exotic

trees with their rare twittering birds, and founts
. and statuaries of the gods.

Then, suddenly striking an attitude,
the boastful Ravana said:

“Look kindly on me, O large-eyed Lady,
all this, and my life, are yours.

270 Sitayana

Be my Queen, Lady, Chief of my Consorts,
and rule my realm and myself :

Lanka is impregnable, neither gods
nor Asuras can daunt me.

Forget that feckless wandering exile
who’s quite unworthy of you;
your beauty and youth are priceless blessings —
do not squander them away.

Look not for early rescue from Rama;

you’ll never see him again :
for the sins of past lives, haven’t you suffered
already and far too long?

Now at least opt for happiness with me,

0 most ravishing Lady !

It's time for your good deeds to bear their fruit,
and we’ll all the pleasures prove.

Remember I’m the Lord invincible
of Lanka, the vanquisher
of Kubera : let’s fly the Pushpaka
and reap the joy of the world.”

As the obsessed Ravana continued
in this unbecoming strain,

Sita hid with her sari’s end her face,
lest it reveal her disgust.

But reading her gesture wrong, Ravana
made a disarming appeal :

“There’s no need for fear, beautiful Sita,
take me as a gift of God!

See, I abase myjself altogether,

1 touch your feet with my head :
never before I’ve humbled myself thus —

love me. Lady, marry me.”

With this stance of abject self-abasement
the wretched Rakshasa thought:

“My goddess will now surely condescend,
and I’ll have my way at last.”

Heaving a deep sigh of pain that arose
from her mind’s lucidity,

Sita barricaded herself behind
a mantra-charged blade of grass.

27 1 In Havana 's Lanka

and in solemn, simple, seasoned accents
found the aptest words to say,
and made clear that Ravana’s blandishments
had had no effect at all : 40

“Must I repeat all I had said before
in the Panchavati hut?

I’m the wife of Rama, who killed Khara
and all his fourteen thousand. 41

Like an eagle with a venomous snake,
so was he with Khara’s hordes.

You’re not invulnerable as you think.

D^ath awaits you on the wings. 42

Because of the outrage on Rama’s wife,
you are already a goat
tied to the sacrificial altar-post

awaiting your tryst with death. 43

•

We lived in the forest in the open
unfraid of your spci'ies;
and when attacked, as by Khara, Rama’s
shaft sped with unerring aim. 44

But like a poltroon you came, Ravana,
disguised as a mendicant,
at a time I was alone, and stole me
like a despicable thief, ^5

And you dare to desire me, Ravana?

Can the contemptible crow
approach the snow-white swan? or the sinner

get close to the Sacred Fire? 46

Have you forgotton the one thousand armed
Karta-vTrya Arjuna

who clapped you in prison for years, and was
killed in turn by Parashu? 47

And this same Rama of the battle-axe
shrank into unimportance
and defeat, when my all-powerful Lord
fronted him with Vishnu’s Bow. 48

Kill me if you will and feed on my flesh,
it’s nothing to me at all;
mere lifeless mud when you seize it by force.

272 Sitayana

Your grandiose offers are nought to me :

but by this desecration
you’ve only decreed your imminent doom,
and the doom of Lanka too.” 50

Having spoken with a supreme effort
of will, Maithili relapsed
into silence; and Ravana, speechless

with rage, barked out his reply : 5 1

“Woman, I give you a twelve-month respite
to fall in line with my wish ;
if you still decline, my cooks will hack you
and prepare my morning meal.” 52

Turning then to the huddling Rakshasis,
he brutally snapped : “Take her
at once to Asoka Grove, and keep watch
o’er her movements day and night. 53

Her spirit should be crushed ! Her defiance
and pride should be tamed, as wild
elephants are! Tempt her, cajole her, or
frighten her, but bring her round!”

54

Canto 35 : Alone in Asoka

After Ravana had left in a huff,
the complaisant ogresses
guided Sita to a secluded place
in the famed Asoka Grove.

As good as its name was the splendid park
with long rows of Asoka,

Champaka and other trees in blossom,
ancf birds carolling sweetly.

There was Naga, mango, Kapimukha,
Uddalaka, Simsupa,
and a host of other tree varieties

deployed in bold formations.

■

Birds in groups ,'^,cw in and out of arbours
in a gay frolicksomc mood,
and small herds of deer, lithe and beautiful,
wandered about aimlessly.

And blameless Sita, iiow all dejection
and stoic resignation,
let herself be led by the Rakshasis
to the heart of Asoka.

Her mind was a blank almost, and she walked
mechnically, in step
with her sullen and severe wardresses
as they moved through the garden.

Albeit in the daze of continued shock,

Sita couldn’t help noticing
the nightingales and peacocks on the way
and hearing their lusty calls.

Drawn deep into the Grove’s interior,
they had now to negotia.'e
their way through a maze of flower-laden
creepers woven with climbers.

And soon enough they reached an open space
and saw pools with pellucid
water, and the steps were inlaid with gems,
and the floors seemed crystalline.

274 Sitayana

Trees of lavish growth and weighted with fruit
environed the central Lake
where lilies were in blossom, and the air
echoed with the cries of swans. 64

Sita saw besides at a far distance
a dark hill-range with high peaks
splashed with an extravagance of grandeur
impossible to ignore. 65

At the foot of the hills were settlements
of isolated houses
interspersed with luxuriant bushes
or fountains mid well-laid lawns. 66

The leading ogresses soon took a turn,
and Sita was led forward
and she saw a lone gold-hued Simsupa
with sheltering foliage. 67

And in the shadow of the Simsupa
she saw ensconced a hutment
with a narrow gallery in the front
where reigned blissful quietude. 68

At some distance to the right she beheld
a pillared stately Temple,
a wondrous structure of compelling charm,

a majestic dome in black. 69

The procession stopped, and Sita could see
’twas the end of the journey:

she was to exchange her Panchavati
for this nook in Asoka! 70

From the brusque commands and grotesque gestures
of her Rakshasi jailors,

Sita could picture with some clarity *

the tribulations ahead. 71

•

So this was her Mithila, where she had
spent her carefree childhood days;

this her Ayodhya, City of Delight,
where she had. lived with Rama; 72

aye, this was the hill-top Chitrakuta
with its magnificent views ;

this the untamed Dandaka wilderness
with its elected retreats, 73

275 Alone in Asoka

where with Rama and blameless Saumitri
she had parcelled out her days
and experienced a rare peace and joy
at the feet of the Rishis.

And here was her dear Panchavati too,
where for a marvellous span
of indeterminate time they had won
the Kingdom of Happiness !

And all, all, by a vicious twist of fate,
had now catapulted her
across wide stretches of land and ocean
and cast her here in prison.

The little hut was Ashrama enougli,
and although a prisoner,
from the words the sly tiianesses dropped,
she’d have ample elbow room.

The fair lawns spaces circumscribing
the hut — the pond and the stream
near the huge Temple, the encircling trees,
the deer, the swans, the peacocks —

Sita would be free tr wander about
in reasonble measure,
relax under the gold-hued Simsupa,
or speak to the deer and swans.

And one of the ogresses said sweetly :

“You’ll get all the choicest food,
a miscellany of the richest drinks,
and all the raiment you want.

Here at the hub of Asoka Vana
all sorrow scuttles itself ;
if.Paradisal airs blow anywhere,
it’s here, here in Asoka.

All wishes attain their fulfilment here,
and you’ve only to name ^hem ;
this single life is yours to make or mar,
be wise in the choice you make.”

While Sita had nothing to say, her eyes
were more eloquent than words,
and the contingent of demonesses
felt dismissed, and disappeared.

276 Sitayana

It was now evening crawling towards night,
and an unearthly stillness,
a peace that quite defied understanding
seemed to settle down like dew. 84

Resisting her sense of desolation,

Sita made a dreamy move,
walked up to the nearby crystalline stream
and offered sandhya prayers. 85

A divine calm descended upon her,
the creeping terror withdrew,
she could gather her native strength once more,

she was wide awake within. 86

While the shadows of the night were closing
upon Asoka, the first
pins of light appeared in the firmament

and all earth seemed bathed anew. 87

An ineffable consanguinity
held her rooted to the place,
she recalled the mystique of her Earth-born

history in Mithila, 88

she felt tremor after tremor passing
through her tender tempered limbs
and the feel of universality

coursed through her veins and pulse-beats. 89

Stars a million were shinihg in the sky,
and the expanse of the Earth
smiled in effortless communion with them;
and as starlight came like rain, 90

the variegated physiognomy —
pools, lawns, trees, birds in their nests,
the shy deer in their safe lurking corners —
had a spray of warmth and peace. 91

Sita too felt a surge of strength and hope,
and the load of exhaustion
seemed to slip and roll away, and she raised

her visage in gratitude. 92

Slowly walking back to her prison-house
Ashrama, she paused a while
near the all-comprehending Simsupa
and felt an affinity.

93

277 Alone in Asoka

It had seemed gaunt and tall from a distance
as if communicating

with the heavens; but on closer quarters,
it was fulsome and friendly.

The foliage was bushy and colourful,
some of the branches were low ;
and Sita saw she could reach and feel them,
and hold on to them standing.

For a minute she stood still, lost in thought;

could this Tree be verily
the nexus between the infinities —
the Real and the Seeming?

Come to think of it, was it possible
she could be separated
from Rama? — he was no isolable
or limited personage !

Had she not uiwa/s — awake or asleep —
seen him, Jieard hin^ inhaled him?

Did she not know that, torn apart from him,
she had no identity?

And how could great Rama himself sustain
his mystic redeemer role
when divorced from the soul of his being,
the immaculate Sita?

While this was doubtless the transcendent Truth
(‘Myself, myself, am Rama!’),
the sruti of the music of the worlds,
the Law governing all laws :

Sita couldn't ignore the phenomenal
and crass actuality —
aji she had left behind in Dandaka
both Rama and Lakshmana.

Malthili felt precariously poised
on the current edge of Time
between the rivalling eternities,
and she too swayed to and fro.

It was with infinite hope she had left
her sphere of Peace in response
to the human cry, and taken the plunge
into manifestation.

278 Sitayana

She had thought this solid and substantial
Earth, this exciting glory
of land masses mid the heaving waters
of the encompassing seas — 104

she had dreamt that this captivating Earth
would receive the afflatus,
enact the intended efflorescence

and achieve the desired change. 1 05

Perhaps the Simsupa with its unseen
peaks above, its unseen roots
reaching down to the deepest depths below,
its branches Earth-embracing: 106

the Simsupa, like the Aswatha Tree
of mythic antiquity,

might help her forge the links between Heaven
and Earth, the past and future. 107

There was a sudden breakthrough in her mind,
for it was as though she had
crossed a crucial consciousness-barrier,
and the way ahead was clear. 108

As if awake with a new percipiencc,
she now took a few firm steps
towards the yonder prison-Ashrama,
and thought of Rama again.

109

Canto 36: Sita’s Introspection

For the next few days, life for Maithili
became a soulless routine,
a gradual acclimatisation

to her strange new surroundings. 1 10

The dozen demonesses came and went
with a mysterious air
three or four times a day, and enacted
an exa'sperating role. 1 1 1

As if, indeed, parodying themselves,
they sang Ravana’s praises,
doled out the same mixture of inducements,
threats and sly exhortations. 1 12

And when they foucid that their words made no dent
on Sita’s sublime resolve —
she needed nothing, would accept nothing,
and would make no concessions ! — 113

the ogresses would make their departure
with mounting discomfiture,
sometimes in plain disbelief, and sometimes
hurling threats and abuses. 1 14

For Maithili, in her captivity,
the days were a stand-still hell,
and all Asoka’s spendthrift seductions
failed to mitigate her pain. 115

As day followed dreary day, and Sita
refused all offers of food,
thn ogresses speculated about

the source of her sustenance. 1 16

«

And Sita herself hardly knew at first
how long she could continue
her refusal of food, actuated

by her native revulsion. 1 1 7

In her extremity of misery
she could think neither of food
nor ease, neither of raiment nor comfort,
and a ‘No’ seemed natural.

118

280 Sitayam

But the hours gathered into days and nights,
and day followed vacant day,
and her body functioned just as before ;
she felt no weakness at all. 1 19

Asoka was full of trees yielding fruit
in all seasons, and offered
their best — plantain, mango, orange — as she
wandered among them freely. 1 20

Twas as though the generous Earth-mother
was displaying her largesse
and insinuatingly inviting her

daughter to partake of it ! 121

But there was indeed no hunger as yet,
no call for food of any
kind, and she could sustain her life drawing
upon the hidden reserves. 1 22

She had heard some of the great Rishis claim
immunity from decay
of the body during their prolonged spells
of fasting and privation. 123

“It’s a question of one’s being able
to call upon the Shakti
of the Universe,’’ a Rishi had said;
and clearly he spoke the truth. 124

The human body, a complex workshop
engineered by the Spirit,
had some alchemic potentialities
beyond mental reckoning. 125

Besides, now it came with a lightning flash
to her — how the Mahatma,
her Raghava, had prepared her wisely
before they entered the woods. 1 26

Rama had himself received instruction
from Rishi Visvamitra
on the eve of the momentous struggle
with demoness Tataka. 1 27

“Rama,” the Rishi had said, “take water
in your hands, and learn- from me
‘Bala’ and ‘Ati-bala’, twin mystiques
that defy hunger and thirst.”

128

28 1 Sita \s Introspection

The acquisition of these secrets meant
a tremendous accession
of strength and invulnerability,
a star-badge of endurance.

When the time came for the three to vacate
Chitrakuta and make for
the dark unknown of Dandakaranya
with its dire uncertainties,

Rama had initiated Maithili
and Saumitri in ‘Bala’
and ‘Ati-bala’, and so prepared them
for the worst of forest life.

It was, then, the high spiritual charge
she had received from Rama
on the banks of Mandakini that held

the clue to her endurance.

•

The mystiques Uad oerome integrated
with her everyday living,
and she needn’t, today or at any time,
accept the Rakshasa’s food.

She was Sita, after all, the Earth-born,
she was one with the Mother,
and manifold the life-currents that flowed
between her and the Mother.

Watching from under the Simsupa tree
the night’s darkness melt and flow
and the Dawn usher in another day
with its explosion of Light,

Sita wondered morning after morning
when her own heavy darkness,
the division from Rama, would likev/ise

give place to another Dawn.

•

The decade in Dandaka had raced fast
as they shifted residence
from Ashrama to Ashraina, making
• a round of the whole region.

Their life in Panchavati, an idyl
incomparable, had been
brutally cut short by malignant fate,
and her own folly and fright.

282 Sitayana

Since leaving Ayodhya, thirteen long years
had passed like so many days,
but these last few days were a sordid sum
of terror and misery.

Sometimes she sat on the bare floor facing
the maternal Simsupa ;
or stood under, wistfully holding on
to one of its low branches.

But she wasn’t awake, nor was she asleep;
in a life that was neither

waking nor sleeping, what dreams and nightmares
what incredible visions?

Wasn’t she in Rama’s presence all the time?

didn’t she breathe his ambience
everywhere, and hence in Asoka too?

And yet, at her touch, he fled!

He was there with her still, — and he wasn’t there;

she felt forlorn, abandoned;
she seemed overpowered by a total
black-out of consciousness-light.

She had no need of food or rest, and her
inner climate of freshness
and her regular sandhya orisons
sustained her daily routine.

She would sometimes re-eriact the events
of that morning which swept on
like a chain-compulsion till serpent-like
Ravana swooped upon her.

The folly of succumbing to seeming,
the giddy pleasure of gold,
the desire for a phoney golden deer
against Saumitri’s warning;

and the worse folly of rejecting Grace, —
for wasn’t Saumitri the Grace
that had cast on her the cloak of safety
when her Rama was away?

How pointed was wise Ahalya’s advice !

Like Vipula for Ruchi,

Saumitri would have been for her a shield
against Ravana’s assault.

283 Sita's Introspection

Fool, fool, a child in her preferences,
and wilful and insistent,
and so perverse and impulsive in her
suspicions and reactions !

Why do people, with their fine upbringing
and deposits of culture
and all the disciplining of their minds,
succumb to fits of folly!

The spiral of consciousness was a climb
from the darkest inconscience,
past the plateaus and hillsides of ascent
to Superconscient summits.

But what’s this spamodic oscillation
between the heights and the depths,
the pull of cussedness that drags one down

to the depths of misery?

•

’Twas common wj.ongh, it seemed, to grovel
in grooves of uneas*^ and want
or live among prisoners of frailty,
the unredeemed of the earth.

Twas known, too, that the emancipated,
the realised ones, could reach
the peaks of felicity and dissolve
in their transcendence of ills.

But men and women must needs inhabit
the spiralling middle world,
and the ascent must mean integration
at every mediate step.

’Twas not the flight from Earth and the human
bondage that mattered, rather
the braving of the worldly and human
and their transfiguration.

The living Flame of the Jlvanmukta,
the serene lucidity

of the Mind of Light, could have resisted
magic and deceit alike.

Her fostering in Mithila had done
much, then the education
in Dandaka’s circuit of Ashramas
had seasoned her mind and heart.

284 Sitayana

Not enough! for she had erred grievously,
and was now paying for it;
this sundering and this suffering were
her unfinished askesis! 159

Yes, for her frenzied folly that morning,
here was her purgation, — but
there, at the other end, Panchavati,
how did the drama unfold? 160

Doubly deceived by that golden decoy,

Maricha the Rakshasa,
how did the stricken Brothers face the fact
of the intrusion and theft? 161

It could be that Rama blamed Saumitri
for leaving her defenceless,
and perhaps, in self-defence, Lakshmana

repeated her cruel words! 162

An abysmal guilt and shame ran through her,
and she shuddered at the thought
of Saumitri’s squirming before Rama,
and both collapsing in tears. 1 63

Sita wondered if any eye-witness,
like the dying Jatayu,
told Rama of Ravana’s transgression,

theft and air-dash to Lanka. 164

Their agonised search should'have fanned out more
and more, and they must have seen
the smashed car and the dead charioteer,
and Jatayu in a heap.

Was the expiring King-Bird, the gallant
Jatayu, conscious enough
and fully articulate to report
on the Rakshasa’s outrage?

And did Rama meet the Vanara group
on the hill-top, amongst whom
she had dropped, unnoticed by Ravana,
the bundle of her jewels?

It was all mere surmise and the gamble
of vague possibilities,
but the actuality was the scission,
the intolerable pain.

165

166

167

168

285 Sita’s Introspection

Arriving at the dolorous dead-end
of her thought-lacerations,
she would retire to the interior
and be lost in the Real.

Canto 37 ; Trijata and Anala

Time and time enough after her coming,
and the surface transactions
of her life, with their mechanical run,
belied the anguish within. 1 70

The titanesses came and went making
the customary motions,
and were met by Sita's studied silence
of contempt and dismissal. 171

They hymned Ravana’s praises, exhorted
Sita to become his Queen,
spoke foully of Rama, and warned the worst
if she denied compliance. 1 72

But one stood apart, a late addition,
who seemed kindly and humane,
and a rapport fed by intimations
grew between her and Sita. 1 73

One afternoon this wardress came alone,
and Sita was both surprised
and happy; and now ensued a friendly
seminal conversation. 174

“I’m Trijata,’’ she introduced herself
with a touch of nervousness;

“be not afraid, O virtuous Sita,

for you have friends in Lanka. 1 75

Vibhishana my father is the King’s
younger brother; my mother,

Sarama, and my sister, Anala,

are all for the verities. 1/6

My father’s position in Ravana’s
Court is something delicate,
aye, like that of the soft sensitive tongue
surrounded .by the sharp teeth. 177

He has somehow persuaded Ravana
that I might be asked to join
the wardresses, and keep an eye on them —
also be in touch with you.

178

287 Trijata and Anala

We too belong to the Rakshasa race,
yet by choice and discipline
we're votaries of Dharma, committed
to the steep and narrow path.

Worthy Sita! long-suffering Sister!

since Ravana brought you here,
an unrest has been brewing in Lanka,
and questions are being asked.

The King's Council is summoned tomorrow,
and the whole issue will be
debated, and perhaps some will speak up,
and, Ravana may listen.

I have arranged with my elder sister,

Anala, that she should come
in the evening and report to us here
the drift of the proceedings.”

Sita heard all v'ith mounting interest,
and indeed Tnjata seemed
a high-souled and dependable person,
and a clairvoyant besides.

Her eyes had a visio\ar/s brightness,
a vast mother-love brooded
over her gaunt protective limbs, and she
exuded infinite trust.

For Sita, this was a rare break from her
silence of isolation,
and 'twas truly refreshing to converse
with such a sister-spirit.

Trijata had much to say of Lanka,
its opulence and splendour,
of Ravana’s might and magnificence,

*his vanity and conceit.

She«learnt too of Ravana’s gynaeceum,
of Mandodari his Queen
who was both beautiful and virtuous,
and mother of Indrajit;

of Sulochana the Naga princess,
fair-minded and great-hearted,
worthy Indrajit's well-beloved wife,
as noble as she was wise;

288 Sitayana

of Kumbhakarna the giant sleeper,

Ravana’s younger brother:
a titan cast on a heroic mould,

a tamasic colossus. 189

“It’s like this,” said Trijata dolefully;

“few dare to cross Ravana,
for he’s brave as well as intolerant,
and brooks no opposition. 190

His sustained tapasaya of long past years
renders him immune to death
at the hands of Devas or Asuras —

and he has contempt for Man! 191

But now that he has wickedly injured
the invincible Rama —
who is neither Deva nor Asura —
great Lanka’s King is afraid. 1 92

If Ravana has seized and brought you here,
blame his lust, but equally
his desperate hope that, parted from you,
grief-stricken Rama will die. 193

But holy Sita ! I feel in my soul
that you two are born mainly
to ordain a new order in Lanka

o’er the debris of these times. 194

Your seizure and sufferiiTg are the means
by which the elemental
issue between the Evil and the Good
is being fatefully joined. 195

In my fevered but radiant moments
of perception, I often

seem to see more than the mere naked eye —

O fear not, Sita, you’ll win.” 196

Trijata spoke with such sincerity
and power of conviction
that Sita felt she was really involved
in the dynamics of change. 1 97

There were indeed more things being fashioned
in the mystic womb of Time
than mortal beings, however intent,
could figure out correctly.

198

289 Trijata and Anala

Perhaps, as the percipient Trijata
had hinted, there were forces
quite beyond the private grief of Sita
or Rama’s deprivation.

She could herself obscurely feel at times
the pressure of a cosmic
purpose, the surge of a mighty music,
involving all future Time.

When Trijata had taken leave, Sita
went into her deeper self,
and defying the current negations
sought the key to transcendence.

Late next evening, Trijata came again
with her sister Anala ;
she had a committed look, and both paid
obeisance to Maithili.

Then seated before her, Anala said:

“Devi Sita, forgive us —
we’re ashamed of Lanka, of Ravana,
and of the King’s counsellors.

Many attended the Council meeting:

ministers and advisors;
elders and generals; and the stalwarts
of the Royal family.

Even Uncle Kumbhakarna was there
hauled up from his deep slumber;
and gallant Indrajit, Ravana’s son;
and our hapless Father too.

In his attempt to sidetrack the issue,
Ravana spoke of honour
and security: he dwelt at some length
on Surpanakha’s dudgeon,

Rama’s annihilation of Khara’s
fourteen-thousand strong army,
the loss of prestige in Janasthana
and all Dandakaranya.

It was imperative to teach Rama
a devastating lesson :
that was why Ravana had seized Sita
as a proper prize of war !

290 Sitayana

If within a year she gave her assent
she would become Lanka’s Queen;
if she denied him still, no more mercy
but the swiftest punishment!

There was hushed silence in the Council Hall
till my Father rose to say :

‘O King! if Rama routed our army
all alone, he’s more than Man.

A superhuman power hems him round,
for his uncanny arrows
have destroyed some of our best warriors,
and the whole army as well.

Lanka’s King! as befits a great nation
we should react maturely,
face Rama in battle, meet force by force,
and drive home our advantage.

Surpanakha did wrong soliciting
Rama first, then Lakshmana,
and assaulting Sita, thus provoking
the rebuff and punishment.

She then goaded Khara to march against
Rama, and in self-defence
he wrought all that havoc: let’s not hasten
to condemn that anchorite.

But the capture of Sita, the flame-pure
daughter of King Janaka,
and her imprisonment in Asoka
fill me with grave forebodings.

The verities of Dharma arc assailed,
the wrath of the injured Prince
might soon explode as cataclysmal fire
and burn down Lanka’s Towers.

O Lord of Righteousness! retrace your steps
in fime, return Maithili
to her Lord : and if you still must, fight him
openly and chastise him.’

The words had a chilling,and benumbing
effect on the councillors,
and even Ravana, ah hough his eyes
rolled in anger, held his peace.

29 1 Trijata and A nala

The minutes crawled, and now rose Avindhya
an eider statesman, prudent,
possessed of admirable qualities
and held high by Ravana.

In his turn, Avindhya gave the warning
that, were Sita not returned,

Rama would invade and destroy Lanka
and end the Rakshasa race.

Kumbhakarna was silent, Indrajit,

Prahasta, Virupaksha,
princes, ministers, generals, all, all,
seemed petrified and speechless.

Suddenly Ravana’s red eyes flashed fire,
he stamped his foot, his voice shook,
he was Ike one convulsed, obsessed and doomed:

‘No surrender of Sita!

•

I've vowed she snail be my Queen — or my meal!

Come Rama, come Lakshmana,
come all the swarms of men from the whole world,
i’ll single-handed slay them!’

After this burst of megalomania,

Ravana fumed and stormed out,
while the Council broke up with a feeling
of graveyard fatality.

I’m afraid, O Sita, that Ravana
may resort to more ruthless
courses to bend your will ; yet cast ofl' fear,
for you’re inviolable.

However mad or maddened, he will not
take the last forbidden step,

•for he lies under a curse, and he knows
that moment will be his last.

It’s going to be a time of trial
and excruciating distress,

O Sita, but I have some good news too,
and I speak from sure knowledge.

Moving freely in the King’s gynaeceum
I meet his many consorts,
but Mandodari is a paragon
among women, chaste and fair.

292 Sitayana

Many of the consorts have youth and charm ;

some had come of their own will
and infatuation, and some had been seized
after an orgy of war.

Some had been hauled against their will, and some
are of low degree, but none
is without bearing, talent or sweetness ;
and Mandodari is Queen.

There’s universal sympathy for you,

O Sita ; and the consorts,
while they may be loyal to Ravana,
melt with sympathy for you.

An awed admiration for you courses
through their veins, they feel the surge
of strong emotions when they think about
your current tribulations.

And depend on honoured Mandodari,
she’ll not let Ravana stray
beyond the last barrier but avert
his canter to the abyss.

Remember, again, there’s Sulochana
counterpointing Indrajit
her peerless husband, with her commitment
to the path of righteousness.”

After a minute of studied silence
Sita said : “I find it strange
that all except two of the councillors
sought their safety in silence.

The same warriors who will risk their lives
in battle — kill or get killed —
quake nevertheless before a tyrant,
and opt for shamed acquiescence.

But Anala, Trijata: I’m grateful
to the Vibhishana clan;

there’s this trembling light in Lanka’s darkness,
and Grace will fusion with Light.

As for me, I don’t know if I’m twyfold
in my manifestation :
the Sita that suffers, cries and despairs,
and the mute Witness Sita.

293 Trijata and Anala

It seems to me as easy to feel crushed
by the pressure of events
as to stand apart like the uninvolved
watching the transient play!” 239

After their depature, Sita withdrew
into her innermost self,
and beyonding the fret of the moment
she sought the stillness within. 240

Canto 38 ; The Ugly and the Beautiful

Straight from the Council Chamber Ravana
went to his Carousal Hall
and drowned his frustration and resentment
in blended intoxicants.

The fair charmers of the Hall crowded round
the tipsy Rakshasa King
and helped him taste sundry special dishes
and liquor tapped from flowers.

He felt happy looking at the jars, jugs,
pitchers, wine cups, variedly
made of gold, silver, crystal, or begemmed
and alluring to the eyes.

In this mood of bloated complacency,
he reaffirmed as he thought
the consensus the Council had distilled
and felt buoyed up as he cried :

“Sita must yield with no further delay !

Persuasion or pressuring,
fascination or fear, she must succumb—

I’ll cajole or compel her !

I’ll depute some of the Museum monsters
to augment the prison guard :
they’ll by turns amuse and terrify her,
and her resistance will end.

But those talkative chicken-hearted fools,
Avindhya, Vibhishana:
they’re the black sheep of the Rakshasa race,
contempt is all they deserve!”

The days passed with no change in the climate,
the daily rhythm preserved
its customary minor deviations,
and peace feigned in Asoka.

Sita too moved about the garden space
but never beyond the range
of a fair circle round the Simsupa,
yet avoiding the Temple.

295 The Ugly and the Beautiful

Of what use was the reckoning she kept
of the hours, days, weeks or months:
the days were bright but all was dark within ;
always ‘twas the midnight hour! 250

The occasional talks with Trijata
were a blessing, Anala
brought news of the Palace and Gynaeceum
and regaled with anecdotes. 251

Of Rama and Lakshmana, however,
nothing was known, yet Rama
was growing into a god, a menace,

a mystery and a doom! 252

Anala said Ravana’s couriers
were running between Lanka
and Dandaka, and there was a flurry

of anxiety in the Court. 253

In Ravana’s^ gynaeceum, the consorts
and the lesser companions
filled their lazy hours in speculation

about Sita’s sufferings 254

And Sarama from time to time sent word
that the longest night must end,
that the Sun never tarried, and Sita
should await the coming Dawn. 255

Then one morning Sita was scandalised
when a .scowling and screaming
contingent of misshapen Rakshasis

swaggered and steered towards her. 256

“Ah this is one of the ruthless measures
Anala had warned about,”
thought Sita, and sat contained, immobile,

Jike a rock facing a flood. 257

The howling and screaming rose to a pitch
as the noisy heaving neared;
and Sita, poised on her prepotent calm,

studied the constituents. 258

“What a museum of monstrosities,”
she sighed from her soul’s great depths;

“what teeming variety in ugliness,
horror and misproportion!”

259

296 Sitayana

The one-eyed, the one-eared ; the Rakshasi
big-bodied but without ears;
the ogress with her nose screwed on her head;
the creature with hanging lips ; 260

the demoness with a wild hang-dog face,
and knocking angular knees;
the shortish stoutish one, the hunchbacked one,
the one with the twisted face; 261

the one with the swaying belly and breasts ;

the obese and rotund one;
the yellow-eyed one, the repulsive one,
the utterly frightful one! 262

Nay more : some had looks recalling tiger,
goat, wild-boar, fox, buffalo;
some had legs resembling an elephant’s,
a horse’s, or a camel’s ; 263

some had uncouth and unwieldy bodies,
some had terrifying teeth,
some had heads nearly sunk in their bodies,
and some had pendulous heads! 264

They made frantic efforts to frighten her,
yet only roused her pity;

Sita felt taken aback and shaken
at first, and was then amused!

But the deeper feeling was compassion,
the pained elemental cry
of a hapless mother’s fluttering heart
and her sense of helplessness.

Sita was also stung to the marrow
when, looking through the seeming,
she deciphered psychic malformations
reflecting the physical.

The two — the physically handicapped,
the mentally retarded —
seemed to be complementary phantoms,
yet one in the r misery.

The foul abuses and imprecations
that freely alternated
with the blandishment and exhortations
hardly ruffled Sita’s poise.

265

266

267

268

>69

297 The Ugly and the Beautiful

Like random droplets on a lotus leaf
that stay apart for a while
and later disappear imp the air,
the barbed words recoiled from her.

270

This daily swell of silliness and spite
and the taunting exposure
of the flawed inner world’s obliquities
amused as well as hurt her ;

271

and Sita wondered why Nature suffered
those endless aberrations,
why Life flaunted so many self-aspired,
self*forged miscegenations.

272

How fatally easy it was, she mused,
for the beneficiaries
to misuse the choicest of endowments
and to abuse them as well.

273

Beauty, ardou^ power, prayer, knowledge,
love, music, magic, laughter:
the purblind could desecrate everything,
turn blessings into curses!

274

Had she not been shown the interior
of Ravana’s private world :
all the earth’s best gathered in petty space,
and grossly abused, misused !

275

With his penchant for accumulation,
this Ravana had amassed
wealth, women, wines, dominions and even
monsters, for his museum !

276

His moral and spiritual blindness
let him gloat o’er the tally
of his possessions that but possessed him
*and drove him to his ruin.

277

Anala’s news from Court, palace, pleasance
and the mainstreets of La -^ka,

Trijata’s reassuring messages
and sundry prophetic hints.

27^

the routine drama of the nuisance howl
by the Rakshasi motley,
the terror, pity and frivolity —

Sita accepted them all.

279

298 Sitayana

Even so the wearisome days dragged on,
and Sita wore her heart out
thinking of the continuing impasse
and want of news of Rama.

There was little she could do, circumscribed
as she was in Asoka
under the benevolent Simsupa;
only look for inner strength!

Often the evenings under the tree seemed
dully, intolerably,

long and oppressive, and Sita would then
stray into introspection.

Yet in her terrible predicament, —
a wife and a princess torn
from her beloved Lord, and cast among
alien titanesses :

a votary of holiness in love
now perilously exposed
to the treacherous solicitations
of Ravana the lecher, —

she retained in the interior spaces
of her soul’s infinitudes
a crystalline lucidity, a strength
steely, and sheerly sublime.

She was assigned to Asoka, the Grove
inimical to sorrow;

and was that the reason her bruised heart
would not countenance despair?

The corrosive feel of imprisonment,
the ugly titanesses

and their venomous jeers, the remembered
grimaces of Lanka’s King:

they assailed her without intermission,
she shivered and wept, she lost
the flair or will to fight on and survive,
she was dead already, dead !

But this too wasn’t the full arc of the Truth,
for Truth had coils within coils,
and at the centre of the labyrinth,
the still point, aye, what was she?

299 The Ugly and the Beautiful

In the confusing and stupefying
existential thoroughfares,
the one refrain was defeat, and the sole
truth was the pain in her heart.

But like the ground sruti of all music,
the etheric sustaining
essence of everything seen or unseen,
like Agni the life of all :

Sita had her own inner sovereignty,
an ineffable secret

of serene detachment and transcendence
of fcrrms, functions, fulfilments.

In the profound clarity of her soul
that saw past, present, future
all at once, and with neither excitement
nor self-debasing regrets:

Sita lived again intimacies
with Ratn^ her other .elf,
the plunges from the shores of innocence
into existential seas.

But for all the nearnc .s and privacy,
the psychic tension and climb
of ardour, the thiilled peaks of exhaustion
had been few and far between :

a concession to the necessity
of the human adventure,
not a fever of the body or mind,
nor an obsessive habit.

She remebered how, before they commenced
their sadhana in exile,
she had given her Lord the assurance
*she would not add to his cares.

And indeed they had lived for thirteen years,
more as sister and brother
than as wife and husband, and they had known
nor passion nor satiety.

The vicissitudes of everyday life,
the dull and grey and gorgeous
and gloried moments, all alike had worn
the same luminous halo.

300 Sitayana

Life and love and worship and askesis
defied differentiation,
and all existence was a flowering,
an offering, a siddhi.

300

It was with her crystalline purity
of vision Sita saw Love
surpassing space and time, the physical
and vital and cerebral.

301

In a quick exchange of lightning-flashes

Sita saw a summary

of the key-scenes of her life with Rama :
the destined meeting of eyes.

302

the breaking of the Bow and the Wedding,
the dawn-hour of wedded love,
the bliss of shared exile that could defy
Dandakaranya’s trials.

303

and then that venomous crow, Indra’s son, —
like the father, the son too ! —
picking on her privacy with her Lord
and foully outraging her !

304

How the crow had grovelled before Rama !

and her Lord would spare its life,
for his love, his love divine, stretched its arms
to embrace all creation.

305

Now shot back the unforgettable day
when a cloud of unknowing,
the deceptive lure of spangled heavens,
dimmed her vision for a while.

306

Maricha and Ravana had deployed
the ugly double deceit
of magic and sanctimonious pretence,
and her paradise had crashed !

3'07

And although the bestial Rakshasa
had held her in his fell grip,
wasn’t she seraphically beyond taint,
and ’twas h^r fire that burnt him ?

308

After that brief season of unwisdom,
the calm of the Infinite,
the omnicompetence of her true Self,
had expunged the mists and rusts.

309

301 The Ugly and the Beautiful

She was now simultaneously Sita
the outraged innocent wife
and the spouse of the eternal Rama
in their two-in-one blisshood. 310

Nothing was there now for lacerations,
tears or recriminations,
and Sita felt serenely poised, and let
the passing clouds have their day. 3 1 1

Having thus come to terms with her present
predicament, Sita knew
herself quintessentially immune from
Ravana’s machinations. 312

This was an interim for loneliness,
and nude self-sufficiency;
this too was a part of her askesis,
and she watched, and she waited. 313

Canto 39: Ruminations and Lacerations

And she was also more and more intrigued
by the eerie proceedings
in the Temple yonder, the Rakshasa
Congregational Mansion.

While Sita conscientiously kept aloof
from the fenced-off premises,
she was aware of the periodic
convergings and dispersals.

From her Simsupa vantage spot she could
see the grimly uniformed
Temple Guards going on their rounds like ghosts
trailing silence behind them.

Sometimes there was a rush of devotees
with their mysterious loads
of burnt offerings, and the midnight hour
would then explode into tight.

Who were the divinities they worshipped?

Who were the privileged priests?

What awful profanities of prayer?

What ecstatic self-givings?

Sita was lost in the disturbing thought
that anything, anything,
the highest, holiest, carried within
the seeds of its perversion.

She recalled Anala’s long recital
of Ravana’s ascetic
self-denials, and his proficiency
in the chanting of the Riks,

of his stern warrior-code and kingcraft,
of his hoary ancestry,
of his victory over Kubera
and the co iquest of Lanka.

To what end, however, all that glory,
all that epic tapasya?

He had only smothered the sanctities
and bartered his soa« away.

303 Ruminations and Lacerations

Sita mused with agonising deep breaths
whether the frail blade of grass
wasn’t happier far than the aggressive
tall oak attracting thunder !

Oft amid the oppressive silences
of a dismal afternoon,
she let rumination wander afar
from Here to Infinity.

Hadn’t she come down to this unfinished Earth
coercing her transcendence
and cabinning it within the schedules
of a space-time Mandala?

She had descended because Janaka’s
unselfish incandescent
askesis for the racial well-being

had compelled her acquiescence.

•

’Twas her sei»-oi Gained role as transfonning
spirit — a§ the great Earth-born
symbol of life, love, strength of sufferance -
to initiate the new times.

But the earth’s inha’ntants seemed to have
their own strange perversities
of choice, priority and indulgence,
and orgies of self-defeat.

Life, more life, when in league with love, more love,
flowered as Power and Grace
and ripened as rich fruit for the soulful
service of the Mandala.

But that was not how the sons of preyas -
persons with insatiable
hungers, the kinetic Asuric ones —
viewed the theatre of life.

She had sprung like a splendour of lighting
and revealed to Janaka
how the Earth was universal Mother,
life-giver and sustainer.

But o’er the millennia the humans,
slaves of curiosity

and impatience, had made probes and soundings
and brandished strange instruments :

304 Sitayana

art, artifice — cunning and contrivance —
shamming Nature and going
one better (or worse) — ceaseless subtlety —
and callous desecration !

Wasn’t it enough to be Son of Woman,
grow in the sreyas within,
strain after the gold-summits of Knowledge,
and act the proximate god?

The son of Woman would be Son of Man,
and Man would ape the Titan,
the Asura, and would burden himself
with prey as and surplusage.

Restless rapacious Man would wrest the truths,
the interior secrets,
that held together the mysterious
and symphonic universe;

and fouling sacreligious peeping imps
for whom nothing was sacred
but only an occasion for giggle
and a permissive charter,

sundry unscrupulous Knights of Darkness,
clever with their razor-sharp
intelligence, amoral, inhuman,
ready for the soul’s deep swoon,

would turn days to grim artificial nights,
make hell a sanctuary,
meddle with great Prakriti’s primordial
cycles of world subsistence;

self-blinded Man was thus ready to lose
in sly deceptive stages
his innate endowments and sovereignties
and grow estranged from himself.

Abandoning his pioneering role
in the evolving helix,

Man had mov/^d to the sidelines and become
bird or beast or leviathan ;

or fabricated lethal tooth and claw,
or concocted reptile’s spue;
or lightning and thunder in mushroom clouds,
and death in myriad forms.

305 Ruminations and Lacerations

Prakriti the Mother Goddess might feel
her true occupation gone,
for her perverted children seemed hell-bent
on a total ruination !

As more and more she spoke to Anala
with her Court associations
or the sage and serious Trijata
with her psychic transmissions,

Maithili grew wise and sad and pensive,
felt an excruciating pain
that the virus of corruption should taint
son;e of the finest and best.

She remembered the aristocratic
Kaikeyi, her pride, her charm
of manners, her undimished beauty,
her regal unselfishness :

yet that Mantbara with her mildewed ears,
her venomous serpent-eyes,
sleazy insinuating tongue, could drag
her mistress down to the depths.

And Maithili turned the accusing light
on her own maddening fall
from Grace when, in Panchavati, she drove
loyal Saumitri away.

Sometimes, when cerebration warmed her up
and her vision grew clouded,

Sita felt caught in the interstices
of a fateful self-made net.

In that tantalising jigsaw puzzle
of teasing causality,
how should she separate the guilty one
*from the guilt or the victim?

Tin>e past and time present and time future,
the three-in-one mystery
unendingly prodded her consciousness
and sharpened her perceptions.

There she was, still-centred in Asoka ;

no straying away, nor change;
the same place day after day, like the earth
with the great Sun circling round;

306 Sitayana

and Sita in her native poise and peace,
with Time grounded to a halt :
and all these hours, days, weeks, months — how many
whirling round Raghava too !

The Rishis oft used to talk of the wheel
with its invisible hub
and the constantly revolving felly;
yet the wheel was whole and one.

Maithili in her contained misery
could easily imagine

Rama’s and Saumitri’s mounting distress
as they frantically searched,

or scoured all Dandakaranya, the hills,
caves, the hermit-settlements,
majestic Godavari’s bathing ghats,
and the old familiar haunts.

Hectic, agitated, now dejected,
and anon hopeful again ;
the two royal exiles soon renewing
their quest for the lost Sita :

she was here, and they were there wandering
in the wildest Dandaka ;
and the dividing distance became nought,
and the Tmth defied the Lie.

The sundering from her lord, Kakutstha,
the sense of isolation,
was still somehow annulled by the mystic
unassailable oneness.

How else could she have survived all these months
though torn brutally apart —
like fish from life-giving water— from her
blessed and bountiful Lord?

She suffered intensely, but her body
didn’t wither, life didn’t desert
her, she had nor need nor desire to sleep,
or seek food for nourishment.

With Ravana’s behind-the- scenes presence
and sly solicitations

by proxy, with all that ceaseless barrage
of pleading and threatening.

307 Ruminations and Lacerations

the alternations between the comics
of the ugly ogresses

and the blood-curdling terror-offensives
of the ruthless wardresses,

wouldn’t she have cracked under the steady strain
and collapsed altogether
were it not that somehow a deeper Law
rendered her inviolate?

Night after night — and she had kept no count —
and they were darker, longer;
yet the dawn, however belated, had
brought its brightness and solace.

That dear old nurse in Mithila, Kunti,
had oft explained to Sita
with a smiling yet stubborn persistence
how change was the law of life:

the delayed da'A was still the dawn, the Sun
dispelled the thick mists at last,
the splendour of the rainbow was the end
of the grim hours of the storm!

Kunti had taken her of the shocks
of earth-born adversity,
the petty ironies of life, and yet
preserved her humanity.

And she used to say: ‘‘Let the worst -happen,
my child, let the nether depths
chill your being, but the Grace is around,
the redemption is decreed!”

Sita mused with a new light in her eyes,
for she felt hei Rama too
was then wearing his lone heart out somewhere
^hoping to meet her again.

How many times should she remind herself
they two weren’t parted a- all?

Wasn’t it all a drama of destiny,
the finis yet to be played!

Surely some cosmic fiat of complex
predestination drove them,
oft purblinded by their egotisms
and trite misunderstandings.

308 Sitayana

Yet this continuous shadow-boxing,
for all its alternating

pressures of pain and pleasure, failed to reach
the deeper ground of Being.

It was good, thought Maithili, that she had
these tonic intimations
of the unbroken unassailable
identity with Rama .

She remembered how, when Anala came
last week with sage Trijata,
she had conveyed the ominous loose talk
current in the gynaeceum :

Ravana was reported to have said :

“My patience is at an end,
and it’s time to force myself on Sita
and compel her acquiescence.”

A creeping shudder convulsed her once more,
and Maithili thought it strange
that several months should have passed her by,
so quickly as now it seemed !

She knew her Raghava would come, she knew
nothing could ever touch her;
yet Anala’s report was a portent,
and Sita was tense in thought.

And once more she recalled. how ironies
and her own follies had schemed
and landed her in the grim situation
of defence against the Dark :

“What’s the name and nature of chastity?

and what are its intrinsic
powers and compulsions? A stranger lusts
after me, and yet I live !

This lecherous Rakshasa has fouled me,
cast his evil eyes on me,
seized me deceitfully and brought me here,
his fell hand on my body.

Ah why didn’t 1 cease to breathe the moment
this aggressive male monster
ventured to view me with lustful intent
and disgrace me with his touch?

309 Ruminations and Lacerations

The magic golden deer came as a bait,
and I begged my Lord to go
after it, and forced Saumitri, heaping
insults on him, to follow.

Even thus in my knotted purblindness
I destroyed my defences ;
and when the lust-inflamed anchorite came,

1 was there for his seizure.

Ten months are past, and Tm in Ravana’s
repellant custody still ;

I must be viler than these ogresses
to h^ve thus lived through my shame!

Why do I live? and what do I hope for?

No doubt these rare sisters twain,
the helpful Anala, the prophetess
Trijata, ring me with love.

Yet how long. ;r? ^ how intolerable,
this vigil of endless days
and nights, this tasteless hoping against hope,
this sheer silence of waiting?

And in this total blacK-out of knowledge —
for I don’t know if Rama
knows yet where and by whom I’m held captive—
what’s life but the mask of death?

And suppose Rama knows or comes to know
the sordid circumstances
of my capture and brutal conveyance
and imprisonment, what then?

He might come, and with his valorous bow
and arrow kill Ravana
and his Rakshasa hordes, liberate me
‘from these ogresses — and then?

Suppose he turned to me and said: ‘You’ve lived
in the Rakshasa’s househr*ld
for months, and I may not take you back, for
you aren’t above suspicion!’

Woe is me: why didn’t I die, cease to be
by sheer power of my will,
when that poltroon-Rahshasa defiled me
with his poisoned stare and touch?

310 Sitayana

But pause, pause a little, my tortured soul!

I’m not alone the deceived,
desecrated and abducted Sita —

I’m Woman, and all her woes!

393

Startling nightmarish visions invade me,
for I seem to see vistas,
vistas behind vistas, of women young,
and of women not so young:

394

what, will these images of womanhood,
the abused and bruised ones,
the gored and mutilated ones, the pure
but callously cast-out ones:

395

aye, the more sinned against than sinning ones,
the sheer angel-innocents
sold away to a worse than living death —
alas, the Earth-born daughters!

396

I see darkly as in a cloudy haze
but with a naked horror
the cursed perversity of the male
in his commerce with Woman.

397

From Anala I’ve heard chilling reports
of Ravana’s adventures
with women — of waylaid virgins, the seized
wives of the males he had killed.

398

the doomed sisters, daughters, even mothers
mechanically bundled

and brought as the trophies of his conquest
in his gorgeous chariots!

399

Oh war, war, oh lechery, lechery:

the twin debasing hobbies
of the male that deaden and degrade him
and make him the Asura!

45o

And in the coarsening brutalising
process, the wretched female
may succumb sometimes to the temptations
brewed and offered by the male.

401

The other day clairvoyant Trijata
went into a prolonged fit
and curdled my blood with her descriptions
of human obliquity.

402

3 1 1 Ruminations and Lacerations

When a villain casts his lecherous eye
on a lone blameless woman,
or in the might of his maleness assaults,
mangles and abandons her, 403

must the injured woman take on the guilt
of the culprit-male, and feel
responsible for the crime and the shame,
and seek her self-extinction? 404

‘0 Sita, Sita!’ Trijata had cried
in an accession of pain;

‘I see the purest of the pure, bravest
of the brave, and the fairest; 405

1 see them, the shining angel-faces,
in total resignation
or despair, mechnically leaping

into the ravenous fire; 406

and a hundred oil highways, trap-doors,
sly ingenious devices,
poisons, potions, all, all encompassing
earth-daughters’ untimely deaths!’ 407

What justice is this, tiiis vast distortion
of the basic moral code
that orders the killing of the victim
and reprieves the guilty ones? 408

When the soul is seraphically free
and the mind is its armour
impregnable, the male can only grasp
the mere corpse of his desire. 409

No, no. I’ll not for all my helplessness
opt for the ready escape,
buj dare, dare, the devilish Ravana
till he’s finally destroyed.”

410

Canto 40: Havana and Ska

And another day wearily dragged on
with the same futile schedule
of non-events and irrelevances
and routine profanities:

the sly demonesses in the background
vaguely watching all the time
and confabulating among themselves
and swearing indecencies,

and now and then executing an act :

singing Havana’s praises,
wooing her on his behalf, or warning
her of fell consequences.

But by nightfall an eerie silence reigned
and Sita sat immobile
amid the gathered darkness, and bird-cries
came like the solace of speech.

It was once more the bleak hour of the night
when darkness seemed permanent
with no hope of Dawn or efflorescence
of Day and life’s renewal :

and Sita whose life in Asoka Grove
swayed between a numbed silence
and the high fever of cerebration
felt rather warmed up within,

and yet once more she let loose the wild hounds
of her agitated mind
after surmises and apprehensions
and slick probabilities.

The dreary hours in their one-way trafflc
had vanished into the past,
and while memory was a shot-silk piece
of conflicting, emotions,

there was no retrieval of an event
nor of its safe annulment :
only post-mortem examinations
and the attendant fall-out.

3 1 3 Havana and Sita

Ten long months had passed, but why didn’t Rama
the killer of Viradha

and of Khara and his fourteen thousand ! —
rescue her from Ravana?

And with a stab of pain she recalled how
the Asuric crow pecked at
her breast spilling blood that woke up sleeping
Rama, his head on her lap;

her agony stung him, and he released
a Brahma-shaft which pursued
the fledng crow wherever he might go
and nobody could help him,

till at last in desperation the bird
fell at Rama’s feet and sought
his sovereign protection from the power
of th^ infallible dart.

And Rama spared the crow’s life, for the shaft
hit the Asura’s right eye
and was satisfied; and his lesson learnt,
the one-eyed crow disappeared.

Sita wondered how it was that her Lord
who could thus destroy Khara
or punish Kaka seemed nevertheless
to let Ravana go free.

Perhaps Rama didn’t know her whereabouts
and was searching for her still,
her run of ill-luck infecting him too
with impotence and defeat;

and perhaps he had in sheer grief opted
for vagrant mendicancy
or* a desert-solitary’s non-life,

a hermit’s non-attachment;

•

or, torn from her and suffering the pangs
of scission, her well-beloved
Rama had shuffled off his mortal coil
and departed for Heaven !

A worse thought — could it be that her Rama,
schooled in Dharmic discipline,
had chosen to grin and suffer it all,
containing his emotions?

314 Sitayana

It could even be that by natural
process, being out of sight,
she had by and by moved out of his mind
as well, — aye to oblivion!

Worse and worst, the viperous thought assailed
her at unguarded moments:
had Rama speeded back to Ayodhya
looking for another wife?

Sure, thought Sita, the burden of her sins
must be terrible indeed,
and all her holiness of chastity
seemed to be unavailing.

Why, Saumitri alone, with his brother's
permission, could have destroyed
the Rakshasa and achieved her release . . .
but she had wronged him, alas!

And this above all : her adversary,
the infernal Ravana,
had he already liquidated both
Raghava and Saumitri?

And so like a boiling cauldron of oil,
like the tempestuous sea,

Sita’s mind seethed and heaved in a fever
of raging uncertainty.

So disturbed was she within and so lost
to her outer surroundings —
the Asoka with its spread of sandal,
champak and bakula trees,

and the Simsupa full of foliage
like a motherly embrace —

Sita was hardly conscious of the stir
of life in her neighbourhood :

sudden sweeps of wind and rustle of leaves,
the shy deer’s furtive movements,
the bird's unpredictable twittering,
the fall of a withered branch:

’twas all part of the physiology
of loneliness in the dark,
and in course of time Maithili had learnt
to take them all for gi anted.

3 1 5 Ravana and Sita

O’er the weary months she had grown inured,
and she slept with intent eyes
like a hermit self-absorbed in tapas
awaiting the last breakthrough.

For Sita in her grim insulation,
while ten months had flown quickly
seen in retrospect, each current minute
lingered like eternity.

The guard lay huddled at some fair remove
overcome by the stupor
of excess feeding and intoxicants —
but Trijata slept apart.

Ah, wasn’t it like a familiar painting
by talented Urmila,

the ensemble- background, people, foreground

unchanging day after day?

•

A prisoner of her runiinations,

Maithili sat impassive
facing the hospitable Simsupa
and the first streamers of Dawn.

And presently at the .o enue’s end
she saw a brisk splash of light
and heard the tread of advancing footsteps
and the sound of anklet bells.

Something like an infallible sixth sense
alerted her instantly,
and she knew - as Anala had hinted
'twas Ravana approaching.

The old torture to be re-enacted?

the unseemly attentions,
the sordid flatteries, inducements, threats,
the whole rigmarole of lust !

And he was coming in royal purple,
not as at Panchavati

in an anchorite’s saffron, but ringed round
• by his gynaeceum beauties:

some with chowries, some with palmyra fans,
ministered to their Master,
while some held torches to light up the way,
and some carried cushioned chairs.

316 Sitayana

And some of Ravana’s women, reeling
under the night’s hangover,
shadowed him as he walked, like lightning streaks
after a mountainous cloud. 450

Ordered in a hurry to follow him,
those charmers of his harem,
drawn to him by awe and fear, made music
with their swinging girdle-bells.

And Ravana, bristling with impatience,
loomed majestic as he strode,
his mind a slave to his passions, his eyes
looking out for Maithili.

Sita too, the flame-pure wife exiled from
her native felicity,

the lost Bride of peerless Rama, beheld
the advancing Rakshasa.

She felt invaded and outraged, and like
a lone plantain tree shaken
by a fierce wind, Maithili rocked as if
seized by tenor and trembling.

There she sat, wasted by her sufferings,
her hands covering her breasts,
her thighs concealing her stomach, her face
imaging desperation.

She was like a ship about to flounder,
a fallen bough withering
on the ground, a tender lotus creepei
messed up by the clinging mud.

On the cold bare hard earth sat Maithili
armoured by her askesis,
yet like a mantra-held Naga princess

she writhed in her helplessness. 457

There as she cowered in her veil of mist,
she was like a gloried Name
besmirched by slander, or Vedic lore lost
through lack ^f cultivation ; 458

yes, like the bright Rohini o’ershadowed
by vengeful Dhumaketu;
or like a highborn girl in the mean house
of her unlettered husband ; 459

451

452

453

454

455

456

317 Ravana and Sita

like a great reputation deflated,
or a pure faith spurned asidf ;
or like learning reduced to pettiness,
or a good impulse held back ; 460

again, like a welcome order withdrawn,
or a mansion in ruins;
like a holy rite sharply arrested,

or a light screened by darkness; 461

like the desolation that’s the outcome
of an elephant’s rampage,
the birds scattered by fright, the lotuses
crushed, and the waters muddied! 462

Nay more: like an altar desecrated,
a river without water,
a fire extinguished, or the full moon night
quite darkened by the eclipse. 463

Sorrow-strick^;.i, "'icr tresses untended,
given to ceaseless br(^>ding,
unwashed, unadorned, unfed, unrested,
tapas was her sole credit. 464

And sorely tried by L«t tribulations,
she seemed tranced in attention
as if praying to God that her Rama
might somehow end the Titan. 465

It was to this immaculate Sita
of enchanting eye-lashes
that Ravana made his appeal matching
his words with expressive signs : 466

“O you fair in every limb, your round thighs
are like an elephant’s trunk ;
scared of me, you hide your breasts and belly

resolved 1 should not see them. 467

Be itot afraid, Sita, for neither man
nor Rakshasa will harm y u;

’twas my right to seize you to quench my fire,
yet Sita cast aside fear. 46S

Let my desire burn as it will. I’ll not
so much as touch you, Sita,
unless you give consent ; abandon, then,
this sullen stasis of woe. 469

22

318 Sitayana

O sweet to behold! there’s none your equal
in beauty in all the world ;
having first created you, didn’t Brahma
retire from his vocation? 470

O you woman of sweet smiles and fair teeth
and wonderful eyes, O you
of captivating hips, you’ve captured me,
as Garuda grabs a snake! 471

O woman beautiful beyond compare!

throw off these masks of sorrow,
deck your limbs with choice silks and jewellery,
garlands, scents and sandal-paste. 472

This springtime season of youth won’t endure,
like a flood that ebbs away :

O beauty, whichever limb 1 behold
I feel rivetted to it! 473

0 bashful one! all the gems I’ve gathered
from the worlds and brought hither,

all are yours; this Lanka, aye, myself too,
all, all shall be yours alone. 474

Trust me, requite my love, share my delights,
and enslave me to your will :
make Mithila’s Lord bask in my sunlight,
make free with my lands and wealth. 475

What can you do with bark-wearing Rama,
the impecunious wastrel?

He roams about, a man of penances;

I doubt he’s even alive! 476

1 see you in a torn piece of raiment,
you’re sullen and off colour:

yet, having seen you, I can find no joy
with the best of my consorts. 477

O Janaki ! my several spouses
are the triple world’s choicest;
and all will readily serve you : assume
sovereignw over them all. 478

Myself and my realms I lay at your feet,
and there’s no more cause for fear;
let’s, then, sport in seaside arbours where bees
buzz among the big trees’ buds!”

479

3 1 9 Ravana and Sita

Having heard Ravana, Sita felt pained
and alarmed, and placed a Made
of grass — a potent barrier — between
the Rakshasa and herself.

Then, her tears and trepidations held back,
she brought out a benign smile,
and in apt words of persuasive powei,
returned a forthright answer :

“Call back your mind from me, O Ravana,
and steer it where it belongs :
the Queens and Consorts who have come \/ith you
in their love and devotion.

Remember I’m the righteous Rama’s wife,
and it’s not for me to stray
in the least from the hallowed Dharmic path
of resolute chastity.

Your wives nCwU protection, and so do I;

but when, driven by jour lust,
you let your mind dwell upon me, this must
soon spell out your destruction.

Are there no wise, bold and seasoned ones here
to show you the knife-edged path?

Or, your morals grown perverse, have you hushed
them up in your purblindness?

When leonine Rama and Lakshmana
were out for a little while,

O you vile wretch, you came to the exposed
cottage and laid hands on me.

Wasn’t it the total defeat of your arms
in Dandaka that piqued you,

O Rakshasa, and egged you on to this
sinful cowardly action?

It cannot be that this fabled Lanka,
the home of the Rakshas 's,
is doomed by your reprehensible rule
to meet an untimely end.

Let me yet give you a piece of advice
for the universal good :
return me, Ravana, with no delay
to Rama the best of men.

320 Sitayana

He’s famed as the refuge of the helpless
who make surrender to him :
you too can renounce all desire of me
and win my Raghava’s Grace. 490

I warn you else that, just as a gaunt tree
is felled by the thunderbolt,
such will be thy defeat when the time comes
and Rama’s dart hurls you down.” 491

Stung by the vehemence of Sita’s speech,

Ravana was wild with rage
and lust, he swayed and shook, his lips trembled
and he exploded his threats : 492

“The more one speaks pleasing words to women,
the better the reception ;
but the more praises I pour before you,
the sharper your reaction. 493

For every cruel word, O Maithili,
now spoken by you to me,
it would be the aptest justice to pass
a sentence of death on you. 494

Reconsider your ‘No’, Devi, lest 1 —
in my backlash of fury —
attack Mithila and bring Janaka
shamed and shackled before you. 495

But for this o’ermastering spell of love,

I could decree instant death :
yet, woman. I’ll wait for the time-limit,
of which two months more remain. 496

If you fail to come to me willingly
within this sanctioned truce-time,
my royal cooks will hack you to pieces
and serve you for my breakfast.” 497

In the chilling interim that followed,

Ravana’s train of consorts
sent speechless messages to Janaki
by movements of eyes and lips. 498

Thus feeling sustained by them, Sita faced
Ravana once more, and^spoke
words of benevolence born of her pure
nature and soul’s radiance:

499

321 Ravana and Sita

“Is there none in all Lanka to save you
from your fateful evil course?

Know that, like the flame-pure Sachi, I too
have immunity from harm.

It’s odd that you, a warrior engirt
by armies, you, Kubera’s
brother, should have stolen me deploying
necromancy and deceit.

Coward ! you seized me when I was alone,
and Rama was nowhere near :

’twas to predetermine your destruction
that the gods let it happen.

Don’t you know that, were it not for Dharma’s
constraints and Rama’s fair name,
the fire of my chastity could reduce
Lanka and you to ashes?

Worst of sinners; i wonder how your tongue
can speak vilely of Rama,
and your blood-shot eyes foully gaze on me,
yet fail to drop to the ground!”

Listening to her scalding indictment,

Ravana’s tongue and eye blazed
like leaping flames, his diadem trembled,
his girdles and armlets shook.

He was like the huge Mandara mountain
snake-ringed for ocean-churning,
and in his surge of anger his fierce mouth
hissed prolonged bellow-like breaths.

Affirming he would instantly kill her,
the irate Rakshasa called
the ugly and repulsive wardresses,

the one-eyed, the big-bellied,

•

the ones with cloaking ears or without ears,
the noseless and tongueless ones,
the huge-necked ones with Gargantuan breasts,
aye, the dog-faced, the pig-faced,

and ordered them to concerted action
that would make Sita soften
towards him ; and for attaining this end
all, all means would be valid :

322 Sitayana

“Launch an all-out offensive: try sweet speech
or gifts; sow doubts; terrorise!
but somehow bring her round to acceptance
of my sovereignty and love.”

Then, in a sudden spurt of lust and rage,
he lurched towards Maithili
and made violent unseemly gestures
as though he might assault her.

Like lightning now rushed to her side — taking
her cue from Mandodari —
the lithe glamorous Dhanyamalini,
and held him passionately.

“Desist, O King!” she cried, “from squandering
your love on this unworthy
Sita of the listless human species;
come, sport with me, be happy!

There’s only defeat in your love for one
who cares not to requite it,
but with me, O Lord, whose love isn’t withheld,
there is bliss and fulfilment.”

Thus mollified by sweet speech, Ravana
smiled complacently, and let
himself be caressed and cuddled, and drawn
away from Sita’s presence.

Canto 41 : Ska — From Darkness to Light

As Ravana and his colourful train
retreated from Asoka,
the pure angelic Sita felt relieved
though in perturbation still.

The several wardresses now became
vocal and plied Maithili,
as des’i-ed by Ravana, with friendly
counsel first, followed by threats.

One spoke of Ravana’s great ancestry
going back to Pulastya,
another with her gaping cat-like eyes
praised the Heroic Hero.

Others peremptorily asked Sita
whether or not she would wed
Ravana, King of Kings, Lord of Battles,

Ruler of the Elements'

Her lotus eyes brimming with tears, Sita
gave the unruffled reply
that their advice was perverse and sinful,
unworthy of acceptance:

“Not for me, Sita of the human race,
to marry a Rakshasa ;

you may hurl upon me your combined weight,
yet I’ll neither bend noi break.

Although my husband may have lost his realm
and fallen on evil days,

Ifke Surya’s Suvarchala, I’m Rama’s, -

his unseverable wife.

•

Sachi is never parted from her lord,
nor Rohini from Chandra;
nor is Arundhati from Vasistha,

Sukanya from Chyavana;

aye, not Lopamudra from Agastya,

Savitri from Satyavan;
neither is Srimati from Kapila,

Kesini from Sagara;

324 Sitayana

nor is Madayanti from Sowdasa,

Damayanti from Nala!

Like these chaste paragons, I too will swear
by my true husband alone. 525

These names are the veritable scriptures
of the faith of wedded wives,
and their mantric potency can withstand
the mightiest of tyrants.” 526

Thus quite rebuffed by her faith and fealty,
the menacing ogresses
advanced in force and closed upon Sita
and bit their pendulous lips. 527

Reacting in self-defence, Maithili
wiped out the tears from her eyes
and drew near the spreading Simsupa tree
as if seeking safe refuge. 528

From all four sides the demonesses pressed
upon the wide-eyed Sita
and pursued their pressurising tactics

and veiled intimidations. 529

Thus Vinata: “You’ve shown. Lady Sita,
your deep love for your husband;
but anything pursued beyond reason

or season merits censure. 530

You’ve followed the lower human ethics
thus far, but now is the time
to rise to the higher code and accept
the King of the Rakshasas.” 531

Vikata, another ogress, added:

“Witless woman, don’t you see
we speak only for your own benefit?

Enough of these welling tears! 532

O timid one! don’t you know woman’s youth
cannot endure for ever?

Before the stuff of your youth is snuffed out,

quaff betime. the cup of joy!” 533

After these two sly demonesses had
spoken unavailingly,

the fiercer ones now threatened to hack her
to make a sumptuous least.

534

325 Sita— From Darkness to Light

Thus Chandodari and Ajamukhi,

Pragasa and the spiteful
Surpanakha threatened to feed on her
and dance at Nikumbilai.

Listening to the sadistic speeches
of these revolting creatures,
the pure feminine, the divine Sita,
lost her fortitude and wept.

The fit of sobbing, the torrent of tears,
the heave of the breasts, the lash
of the time and terror, made her crumble
like a storm-hit plantain grove.

A picture of desolation, her frame
shaken by sobs, Maithili’s
long and heavy plait loomed dark like a snake
swinging hither and thither.

While ’twas ria»ural she should thus break down,
there could be no betiayal,
and she told the wardresses they were free
to devour her if they wished.

Growing introspective, Sita marvelled
at her life's tenacity,
for with the cruelties she had suffered
she should have died already.

Environed thus by the titanesses
and menaced by Ravana,
the holy Sita felt suffocated
and saw no hope of succour.

And like a fawn abducted from its kind
and tormented by the wolves,

Sita in sheer fright shrank within hcr.5elf
and shook uncontrollably.

Irresolute she stood up and reached for
a lower branch for support
and felt like a frail ship tossed in mid-sea
* by raging cyclonic winds.

“What do I know of my sins of past lives?"

Sita muttered in despsir;

“it's the wages of those sins that I must
suffer my present travail."

326 Sit ay ana

Swaying thus between self-probing and tears,

Sita knew no inner peace,
and once more gave vent to ruminations,

regrets and lacerations. 545

Had her heart hardened into diamond
that, for all her sufferings,
it refused to break or disintegrate
and end her tribulations? 546

But however vain her ravings, she’d have
no truck with the Rakshasa:
indeed, he was free to get her split, cut,

burnt, or roasted in the fire! 547

Burning sharp like a piece of hot iron,
the old Mithilan nightmare
returned, and she also called back to mind
the meeting with Maitreyi. 548

While worldly-wise Kalyayani had sprayed
Sita with love and quickly
revived her high spirits, Maitreyi had
armed her to face her trials.

A Tapasvini, she had read the script
of the future and subtly
prepared the purc-souled Vaidehi for all
the sore afflictions to come.

Maitreyi had hinted how the cosmos,
ramshackle though it might seem
howling out its disorder, was no fake
but a Divine becoming.

The holocaust of the good was sometimes
necessary to compel
the return of the larger harmony,
the truer felicity. 552

Maithili could see no more than a part
of the complex cosmic play,
and perhaps 4^herc were more crises ahead

and stormier gulfs to cross. 553

The sainted Maitreyi, however, had
with her alchemic contact
helped Sita to find the infinity —
the crystal essence — within.

549

550

551

5.54

327 Sita — From Darkness to Light

And in defiance of seeming, she could
hold her own inviolate
against a wilderness of Ravanas
and all their mercenaries.

She recalled the heroic Jatayu
giving fight to Ravana:

hadn’t he fallen, the Bird-King would have told,
Rama of her abduction !

Yet although bemoaning her current plight,
she still struck a spring of hope,
felt certain that Rama would come, and then —
death for Lanka’s denizens!

'‘I’m certain,” she almost hissed, ''Ravana
and his titan brood will die,
and I’ll hear the women’s lamentations
in every house in Lanka.

This Lanka will then look like a smoke-filled
cremation-ground, with corpses
burning in the streets, and fleets of vultures
hovering over the earth.

Yes, when Rama comes to know I am here,
his fatal darts will bring down
this city and its warriors, and Night
will descend upon this place.”

A pause, and sobbing some more, for Sita’s
heart of compassion suffered
tremors thinking of Lanka's bereaved ones
and her own present despair.

"I wonder if my heart is adamant,”
she mused, “that it can defy
di^iintegration ; this is why, for all

my dolour, it will not break,

•

Yes, how else can this life of pain and shame
endure so long, for I should
have died ere now, being wrested apart
from my lord and source of life!”

Then like a fateful backlash the word came :

“Severed from Rama, with no
hope of release from Ravana’s clutches,

1 think 1 should end my life!”

328 Sitayana

O’erhearing this, the demonesses shrilled:

“Fool! you’ll commit this heinous
crime? Hurrah! We will then devour your flesh
with relish and fulfilment!”

Awakened just then and taking at once
the measure of Sita’s plight,
the good Trijata felt as though wounded
and screamed at the wardresses:

“Wicked ones! eat me, if you will; devour
yourselves — but not Janaki.

Even now I saw a vision, truthful,
frightful — my hairs stand on end!”

As the creatures crowded round Trijata,
she reported how she dreamt
of Rama and Lakshmana all in white
drawn in a white car by swans;

then the Brothers, in their native halo,
seated on an elephant :
white-robed Sita waiting on Sveta’s crest:
the meeting and reunion !

She saw all three over Lanka, and they
flew to far-off Ayodhya
where the Rishis installed Rama as King
with all the holy waters :

“And I saw Janaka’s fair daughter shine
in the panoply of white

robes, garlands of pure white flowers, and rare
rich scents and the finest pastes.

I saw the celestials with folded hands
praising Rama and Sita,
and the nymphs in a mighty ecstasy
breaking into song and dance.”

And ah the contrast: Trijata saw too
the clean-shaven Ravana

smeared with oil, robed in black, drunk and reeling,
and sinking ir/.o the mire.

The dismaying dream-sequence projected
Lanka overwhelmed by fire
and all the fabled wealth of Ravana
crash and fall into the sea.

329 Sita — From Darkness to Light

And Trijata concluded: “Foolish ones!

seek forgiveness of Sita ;

I see good omens, fair times are ahead ;
she’ll save you when the time comes.”

Well left alone to herself, and hearing
odd snatches of Trijata ’s
recital of her dream, Maithili now
sounded bleak negation’s depths.

But two months more, and these must seem endless
like the last night in prison
spent by a criminal condemned to die —
the prospect was death-in-life!

And at the end of the grace-given time,
the treacherous Ravana,
failing to have his way, would get her hacked
to pieces and feed on them.

t

The thought c:.ine c*s a stab again: dazzled
by the phantom deer, she had
sent Rama away, and in her frenzy
Lakshmana too, — what folly!

Rama the god of her idolatry,

Rama of firm vows, strong arms,

Rama friend of all, her Rama hadn’t come
all these ten months to save her!

Better batter her heart, and end her life :

yet who would give her poison
or a sword to snuff out her spark of life?

Perhaps her strong plait would do !

But the deeper listening of her soul
had registered some phrases
o£ Trijata’s recital, and charged her
with a residual hope.

As'Sita stood there tremulous, clutching
the branch of the Simsupa,
her left thigh trembled, her fair left eye throbbed,

• and her left arm thrilled for long.

Indeed, the whole ensemble of her limbs
had tremors of excitement,
and a familiar song-bird now warbled
the nearing dawn of new times.

330 Sitayana

And as Sita, her eyes shining, her teeth
flashing like pomegranate seeds,
stood near the tree, her dust-laden garments
slipped a little from her hips.

A sure auspicious sign, this, and Sita,
hearing Trijata’s last words,
said involuntarily: “ril forgive
and save them when the time comes!”

In response to the rich cumulation
of fair omens, once more she
felt alive, like a drought-time seed after
an unexpected downpour.

There was verily a newness in her,
her lips reddened like ripe fruit,
her eyelids were arching and beautiful,
her tresses were long and dark.

With her fever of anxiety lessened.

her spirits reviving fast,
she was the waxing Moon on a bleak night—
radiant was Sita’s face!

She felt reborn, ‘twas not yet day, and her
wardresses had gone to sleep ;
and the silent blissful hour seemed pregnant
with the nectar of the Gods.

Canto 42; Sita and Hamiman*

As if justifying her intuitions
a trained voice broke the stillness,
and Maithili heard in clear rhythmic spans
the Rama story in brief:

“King Dasaratha, renowned, virtuous,
admired of Rajarishis,
fosterer, prosperous, magnanimous,
head of the Ikshvaku race:

his well-beloved eldest son, Rama,
was endowed with rare merit ;
the best of archers, the prop of justice,
the scourge of his enemies:

redeeming his fftthcr’s word, Rama lived
in the woods with his wife and
brother, and in self-defence killed Khara
and his Rakshasa army.

In revenge, deploying a magic deer,

Ravana decoyed the Prince,
then his brother, and spurred by lust, carried
away Sita. Rama’s wife.

Wandering in search of Sita, Rama
made a pact with Surgriva
and helped him to kill his brother Vali
and gain the Vanara throne.

Sugriva’s corps are scouring the quarters,
but guided by Sampati,

Jatayu's brother, 1 have arrived here
"having flown across the sea.

Th© Sita whose form, features, complexion
and effulgent graciousness
Rama knew and spoke about — that Sita
,I now see here in this Grove.”

Following the direction of the voice
Sita raised her head, looked through
her straying curls, and saw a Vanara
seated among the branches.

332 Sitayana

Was she dreaming or awake? A monkey?

An inauspicious spectre !

But this was no dream, for she hadn’t slept since
the sundering from Rama.

Breathing always the Rama ambience,
had she perhaps imagined
the recital of the Rama story,
and now saw this strange monkey!

But no! fancy couldn’t take so firm a shape,
nor make that sweet recital;
and Sita fervently prayed to the gods
that what she heard might come true.

As if answering her, the Vanara
stepped down and stopped before her
in reverence as she still stood clutching
a branch of the Simsupa.

Saluting her with palms joined o’er the head,
the Vanara spoke gently :

“Who are you, Devi, O gracious Presence?

Rohini? Arundhati?

You seem a goddess, but why do hot tears
of anguish stream from your eyes?

From which world have you strayed here by mistake
that you’re so melancholy?

You stand on solid ground' and breathe deeply:

you may not be a goddess,
your body’s signs reveal your princely birth
and marriage to royalty.

Your beauty is beyond human measure;

askesis moulds your body,
and boundless your sorrow : by these tokens
you must be Raghava’s wife.”

Vaidehi felt pleased with the mien and speech
of the red-faced Vanara
and acknowledged she was King Janaka’s
daughter and Prince Rama’s wife.

She spoke of their happy life together
in Ayodhya, of the missed
coronation because of Kaikeyi,
and the consequent exile.

333 Sita and Hannman

Like Lakshmana, Rama’s brother, Sita
had shared the exile too, and
all three had enjoyed the austehties
and ardours of forest life.

Then, thirteen years after, she was stolen
by the vicious Havana :

“Two months’ grace-time remains,” she concluded,
“which means I must end my life.”

Grasping the gravity of Sita's plight,
the Vanara promised her
that leonine Rama and Lakshmana
wouU liberate her in time.

This heartening word from the Vanara
made her recall the saying:

‘If one endures long enough, late or soon
comes the meed of happiness’’

Sita saw* that th*: was exemplified
in her own Jife-histoi v,
and she conversed with Rama’s messenger
in a mood of trustfulness.

And yet, as the Vanaia Giew closer,
the fears erupted again ;
wasn’t this the disguised Havana himself?

She slumped to the ground in fright.

Reacting to her sudden revulsion
born of a primordial fear,
the Vanara made obeisance lO her
in submissive devotion.

She distrusted still, dazed as she was by
terror, but as Hanuman
sustained his stance of reverence for long,
sTie felt emboldened to speak :

“Ar«n’t you the chameleonic Rakshasa
expert in deceit and crime
who hid his native fonu in ochre robes
and posed as an anchorite?

These apprehensions may be misconceived,
for in your gaze I have felt
the spray of ineffable quietude;

I feel inclined to trust you . . .”

334 Siiayana

Once more: was it mere hallucination?
or a coward fixation?

She thought ‘twas the fiend Ravana^ — only
ogres changed their shapes at will!

Thus wavering one way and another
about the phantom in front,
the distracted Janaki was silent
and took no notice of him.

Guessing the deep distress afflicting her,
the Vanara resorted
to the anodyne of a flow of sweet
speech in godlike Rama’s praise:

"He is like the Sun in his majesty,
like the Moon in his brightness;
he is like Manmatha in his features,
and he’s the scourge of his foes.

This same Rama will soon invade Lanka
with Lakshmana, and the brave
Sugriva’s Vanara hosts; and certain,
Ravana will be destroyed.

Before I left on this expedition,

Rama tried to describe you
to help me in my search, but having failed,
he spoke in his helplessness:

‘How can I describe her, limn her features,
Maruti? When you see her,
you’ll know at once ‘tis she and no other,
for there’s no second Sita.

Although many are praised for their beauty
the full Moon, the blown Lotus,
for example — the Moon too has its spots,
the flower its flawed petals!

We cite as samples of sweetness in speech
the prattle of innocence,
the music of the kuyil, the notes from
the flute, cr the Veena’s strings.

And talking of taste and palate’s delight,
what's more welcome than honey?
and if sovereign efficacy be sought,
there’s elixir amnia

335 Sita and Hanuman

But Sita’s limbs are perfect in themselves,
and in their sweet ensemble;
and her speech is the living quintessence
of all Nature’s sweetnesses. 630

The power of her angelic presence,
the music of her converse,
act like the taste of honey and nectar!’

Thus spoke your dear Lord to me 63 1

Devi, 1 am Sugriva’s minister,
and Hanuman is my name;

I’m not what you think 1 am; shed all fear,
have the fullest faith in me.” 632

Feeling more at ease, Sita wished to know
how Hanuman met Rama,
how the human and Vanara Princes
agreed to help each other. 633

Delighted, Hanuman replied: “Rama
the aggregate of pc'vcrs
and graces, and Lakshmana his double
except for the complexion: 634

for Rama is sky-blue, and his brother
is golden-hued! While they were
searching for you everywhere, 1 met them
and conveyed them to my King. 635

Sugriva was on Rishyamukha Hill
cast out of his Kishkindha
and deprived of Ruma, his wife, by his
strong elder brother, Vali. 636

It must have struck Raghava as most odd
that an elder could ill-treat
a younger brother by casting him cut
and seizing his consort too! 637

After introductions, Rama consoled
Sugriva for losing both
wife and kingdom to his spiteful brother,
and gave promise of redress. 6">8

Being told then of Sita’s abduction,

Sugriva asked to be brought
the jewels you had dropped while Ravana
was carrying you away. 639

23A

336 Sitayana

When I displayed the ornaments before

Rama, he swooned at their sight ;
reviving, he took them on his lap, mused,
reminisced, and felt great pain.

640

Rama's anguish was a fire enkindled
by the ghee-like jewellery,
and I had to speak diverse soothing words
to put out the leaping flames.

641

Now emerged the concordat between him
and my Chief : Vali would die,
the Vanaras’ search for you would begin,
and end with our finding you.

642

Rama said with emotion: ‘Sugriva,
you’re my brother too, the sixth
added to the four of us, the Raghus,
and the fifth, Chieftain Guha.’

643

There was still the fratricidal conflict
looming ahead, and ‘twas thus
from Kishkindha’s outer walls Sugriva
roared his challenge at Vali.

644

The duel between the two Vanaras —
yes, brother against brother,
warrior and warrior in grapple! —
was a traumatic event.

645

The fighters were almost evenly matched,
and ‘twas Rama’s dart, unleashed
on the sly, that achieved the fatal hit,
and Vali fell down at last.

646

There were recriminations on his part
and rending lamentations
by Tara as also the remorseful

Sugriva; all were in tears.

647

She had indeed, with a percipience
uncanny, seen in Rama
the image of the scourge of God, and warned

Vali against the fighting.

I

648

Alas, the perversity of the male,
his untrammelled aptitude
for self-assertion and ill-temperate
aggression and violence^

649

337 Situ and Hanuman

The moment was emotionally charged,
and brought its own katharsis:
for, in Rama’s presence, all passion spent,
a deep calm settled again.

Vali’s soul left his body reconciled
to Sugriva, having first
entrusted to his care both Angada
the Prince and bereaved Tara.

And so, with Rama’s blessings, Sugriva
became the Vanara King,

Anga^^a the Crown Prince, and both Tara
and Ruma the King’s consorts.

After the rainy season, Sugriva
stirred into activity

and sent out hundreds of thousands to scour
land and sea in search of you.

Divided into four parties, they were
asked to explore the quarters.

Satavali’s to the north; Panasa’s
to the regions in the east;

Sushena and his stalwarts to the west,
and Prince Angada himself
was to march southward; and all were required
to report within a month.

Along with General Tara, aged
Jambavan, and numerous
veterans, I was with Angada too,
and we sleuthed extensively.

Day followed fruitless day, and our amny,
failing in the Vindhya-range,
tried other places and lost many days

and wallowed in frustration.

•

Once in our extremity of hunger
and thirst we entered a cave
vast and luxuriant; its care-taker,
the gracious Swayamprabha.

When I told her about our wretched plight,
that generous ascetic
took pity, and we were allowed to eat
fruits and roots, and have a drink.

338 Sitayana

Then the kind-hearted dame, by the power
of her prolonged tapasya,
transported us from that wondrous retreat
to the hill-range near the sea.

Our time-limit having expired, we thought
of mass suicide, but chance
led us to Sampati, and this Vulture
told us we should seek you here.

Being Jatayu’s brother, Sampati
felt grieved to know of his death ;
and deposed seeing you carried away
by the wicked Ravana.

Although disabled and immobilised,
he retained his godlike sight,
and he could still see in far-off Lanka
both Ravana and yourself.

Heartened by the news, we rushed to the shore
and felt intimidated
by the sea, but I agreed to cross it,
and dispelled all anxiety.

During my flight of hundred Yojanas
many were my adventures,
but 1 arrived safe, and under cover
of night slipped into Lanka.

First the risen mount, Mainaka, offered
rest and welcome, but I could
only pat the crest with gratitude and
fly on, for I couldn’t tarry!

And Surasa with her wide-gaping mouth
was my next interruption,
but 1 shot in and came out instantly
and persevered with my flight.

The third impediment was Simhika
an evil shadow-snatcher,
but I shot in and came out instantly
that dangerous she-demon.

And Lanka Devi last of all, who tried
to prevent my entering
the City : I had to give blow for blow,
and then she turned most friendly.

339 Sita and Hanuman

It is as though, whenever one embarks
on something urgent, friends, gods,
devils, foes, all are against you, but tact,
cunning, strength, Grace see you through.

For hours I scoured the Rakshasa quarters
in my diminutive size,
then the palace, Pushpaka, gynaeceum:
and nowhere could I find you.

In my desperation, I now invoked
the Name of Rama, and glimpsed
this Grove, and from this tree I could see you
sad,’ brave and defiant still.

As for me, my father was the hero,,

Vanara Kesari; his
wife, Anjana, was my mother; I was
sired by the Wind-God, Vayu.

Devi, accept •£ the Wind-God’s son,
as Sugriva’s minister
and Rama’s devoted servant come here
to advance your interests.

Princess! denied you. lilc-giWng presence,
Rama is under the siege
of misery like a mighty mountain
caught in a volcanic fire.

But Devi ! it bodes well that my crossing
of the sea hasn’t been in vain;
and mine will be the fame of finding you
and reporting to Rama.

Once he hears the news, that tiger among
men, Rama, will lose no time
tp invade Lanka, destroy Ravana
and reclaim you as his own.”

Although paled and thinned by her suffering,
Sita revived listening
to the narrative, and convinced herself
of Hanuman’s truthfulness.

Canto 43 : Signet-Ring and Crest-Jewel

Her patient sufferance hadn’t been in vain,
and o’erwhelmed by Hanuman’s
infallible integrity, Sita
shed tears of joy abounding.

The gratified Hanuman, now anxious
to take leave of Maithili,
said humbly: “Be pleased to accept this Ring
inscribed with Rjaghava’s Name.

The Mahatma has sent this to instil
in you total trust in me.

May auspicious things rain on you, may you
see the end of your sorrows.”

Receiving the Ring, she gazed at it long
as though at Rama himself ;
and transfigured by a rush of pure joy
she addressed the Wind-God’s son :

“Best of Vanaras, you’re wise, valiant,
victorious; by crossing
the sea’s hundred Yojanas in a leap
you’ve made them a cow’s-hoof mire.

Sent by Rama, you are truly seasoned
for conversation with me,
for he wouldn’t send one as his messenger
without full inner credit.

You’ve spoken of Rama and Saumitri,
of my Lord’s lacerations,
agonies and privations consequent
on separation from me.

Neither his illustrious father, nor his
mother, nor anyone else,
has a place in his heart equal to me,

O messenger r’'om Rama !

But I must wonder why, when the Brothers
are strong enough to chastise
the gods themselves, the end of my sorrows
doesn’t seem yet to be in sight.”

341 Signet Ring and Crest- Jewel

Perceiving the veiled complaint, Hanuman
returned a soothing reply :

“Rama isn’t aware you’re lodged here, but now
he will swing into action. 688

When he hears my report, he’ll mobilise
Sugriva’s immense army,
cross the sea, enter Lanka and destroy
the resisting Rakshasas. 689

Vaidehi! you’ll soon see Rama seated
on the Prasravana Hill,
luminous like Indra himself on his
Airavata in heaven. 690

Rama has so long been in a stupor
or paralysis of will,
living on sweet-sad memories of you

that make all else unreal. 691

He’s so compK^c ’^ lost in thought of you
that he will not drive away
from his body flies or gnats or insects
or even venomous snakes. 692

Whenever he sees a flower or fruit,
or whatever found favour
with you, he is deeply touched, cries ‘Ah Love!'
and meltingly invokes you. 693

But Devi, this will change: the royal Prince,
that stern fulfiller of vows,
who now trembles with ‘Sita!’ on his lips,
will attain you in no time." 694

Sita felt her sadness wane as she heard
Rama praised, but his sessions
wi^th sorrow and his sufferings revived

her pain, and the right words came: 695

“O'Vanara, what you’ve told me is like
nectar mingled with poison :

Rama thinks of nothing else but me, - and
Rama is steeped in sadness! 696

Man's but a plaything of Fate that nooses
his life with the Karmic cord :
for proof see the sad plight of Saumitri,
and of Rama and myself.

697

342 Sitayana

Alas, like a ship wrecked on the high seas,
floating, finding rest at last,
when will Rama see the end of his woes
and safely land on the shore?

When will my Lord effect Ravana’s death,
the Rakshasas’ destruction,
the devastation of Lanka, and then
attain reunion with me?

0 Vanara, of the one-year grace-time
but two months remain ; Rama

should now act with a kick of urgency
and redeem me from this hell."

Scenting her sense of crisis, Hanuman
made a humble submission :

“Have no doubt, Devi, my report will send
Rama promptly to Lanka.

Otherwise, with you seated on my back,

I can take you to Rama ;
mark Vaidehi, even as I came here,
ril follow the same airway."

Taken aback by the sheer novelty
of the suggestion, Sita
tried to dismiss it as a childish whim,
a Vanara fantasy.

Hanuman felt hurt at being measured
by his diminutive size,
and so he withdrew a little, then waxed
into his native grandeur,

and faced the dazed Maithili as a blaze
of sudden glory, and said :

“See I’ve strength enough to carry Lanka,
its King, hills, and everything!"

Now Sita stared at the formidable
Maruti and made reply :

“Great Vanara, 1 see your massive form,
majesty and hitive might :

could one with ir-ere human competence have
crossed the wide sea as you have?

1 see you’ve the needed strength, but there are
other things to consider.

343 Signet Ring and Crest-Jewel

With you flying at wind-speed and so high,

I might tumble from your b^ck,
fall among the crocodiles and become
prized food for those fierce creatures.

Or, as my rescuer, you will provoke
the Rakshasas to fight you,
and in the heat of the struggle, I may
become a casualty.

1 don’t deny that, in an engagement,
you can annihilate all
the Rakshasas, but that will only mean
a loss of face for Rama.

And there’s this too : as Rama’s wife, can 1
touch another by myself?

As for Ravana, ’twas not my doing;

I was seized, I was helpless.

0 best of VanaidS, get my Lord here,
and soon; and Lakshmana too;

if Rama destroys Ravana and takes
me back, that will be splendid.”

“What you’ve spoken, Devi,” said Hanuman,
“accords with your native bent,
the code of chastity, and the demands
of feminine propriety.

Being that rare Mahatma’s wedded spouse,
who except you, Devi, can
lay down and practise so resolutely
such a knife-edged rule of life?

When I made my respectful suggestion,

I was tortured by pity

for, your plight, and my aim was to t?ke you
at once to Rama your Lord.

1 spbke out of my profoundest concern,
but since you feel otherwise.,

render some token to convince Rama
■ that all I report is true.”

In answer the radiant Sita spoke,
her anguished words stained with tears :
“You may tell Rama of the incident
of the vicious wicked crow :

344 Sitayana

‘Once in the Ashrama near the river
Mandakini, feeling tired
after long wanderings, you sought me out
and found some rest on my lap.

Just then a crow attacked me with its beak,
and when I drove it away,
it returned, hovered near and pecked at me
causing me great annoyance.

In my anger I pulled out my skirt-string
to frighten the crow away,
but my raiment suddenly slipped, and you
opened your eyes and saw me.

Husband dear! you saw me vexed and inflamed
by the persecuting crow,
and my face was all tear-stained while I tried
my best to make my eyes dry.

You slept on my lap again, but the crow
renewed its attack, spilled blood,
and sharply roused by the warm drops falling,
you seized the situation.

Viewing my wounded breasts and the callous
criminal crow with its claws
stained with blood, you knew it was Indra’s son
deserving quick punishment.

Seizing a blade of kusa grass, you charged
it with Brahmic potency

for the crow’s prompt chastisement; it then burst
into cataclysmic fire.

From that moment on, the fire chased the crow
everywhere around the sky,
and the culprit sought in vain to evade
the terrible pursuer.

Having tried all the gods in vain, the crow
made surrender at your feet,
and offered as target one of its eyes :
and you vouchsafed it pardon.

Lord of the Worlds! the Brahmic-shaft was used
against a crow for my sake,
yet why are you holding back from felling
the thief who stole me away?”

345 Signet Ring and Crest -Jewel

Now she took out from a knot in her dress
her crest-jewel, and gave it
to Hanuman, and desired it should be
safely conveyed to Rama :

“This is a much prized token that my Lord
will identify at once,
and this Choodamani will awaken
the happiest memories.”

Hanuman received the jewel, wore it
on his finger (his hand was
too big), went round Sita with folded hands,
and stood as if expectant.

Marking that he was about to withdraw,
she addressed her parting words*

‘'O Vanara, give good tidings of me
to Rama and Lakshmana.

That man of Db aiik’j, Saumitri, renounced
all wealth, power and glory,
and followed Rama to the woods, and still
serves him with deep devotion.

Alas, that hero, Lakshujana, wasn’t there
when I was carried away :
a marvellous brother, solicitous
in his service to Rama.

Aye, he’s the perfect man of works who does
any task assigned to him .
make inquiries about the well-being
of Rama’s best-loved brother.

And you may give Rama this token too :

‘Once when my forehead’s red-mark
had.come off, you playfully made it good
with some red mineral dust !

O receive this crest-jewel I’ve guarded
with infinite care, finding
solace and peace whenever in distress,
for always I saw you there.’

Lastly, apprise Rama of the circuit
of my woes, and make him soon
deliver me from this dolorous sea —
and may your pathway be fair!”

346 Sitayana

Having received godspeed from the tearful
Sita, Hanuman withdrew
reverentially, moved out of her sight
being lost among the trees. 738

Canto 4-4: Hanuman and Ravana

The Sun had risen, and Asoka Grove
with all Lanka was awake,
and life was aglow with its divers tints,
and another day began.

Left alone at last, Sita was a prey
to conflicting emotions —
happiness on having met Hanuman,
and sorrow on his leaving.

She thought for a while reviewing the scenes
since the hour before the Dawn ;
but if the overture was Ravana,
the end note was Maruti !

Sunrise over A'^oka meant a splash
of orchestrated coloui,
the scattering of mingled fragrances,
the leap of manifold life.

During the long silent hours of the night
pensive Sita had communed
with the dumb citizenry of the Grove
and shared their intense yearning.

Darkness was a solvent in its own right,
and diminished, harmonised
and melted all sharp angularities
of motion and assertion.

’Twas Grace under pressure of the blanket
of Night and the opiate
of sleep, for that was the creative hoar
of the dynamic helix.

Grace indeed that in that solemnity
Sita could hold communion
with the exhilarating processes
■ of the climb of Consciousness.

Such stuff as insensate water and air
penetrated forms of life

and merged with them and sustained their growth and
accomplished self-conversion.

348 Sitayana

All life with its million variations
from grass, plant and tree to fish,
insect, bird, reptile, animal and man,
all in quest of the Unknown : 748

higher still and higher, — broader, broader! —
and deeper too; from the depths
to the heights and back, a two-way traffic,
a world-stair of Consciousness! 749

Who set the lifeless questing after Life,

Sita had often wondered ;
also, who set Life voyaging through seas
of daring speculation? 750

But such thinking sprints met no wayside inns,
and, forever restless, must
race beyond the flickering pins of light,
and seek the Luminous One. 751

And the leap of trancendence could land you
— O where? — perhaps happily
on the inexpressible Permanent,
the ultimate mystery.

Multitudinous matter, the countless
forms of life, the myriad
creepers of consciousness, and the blinding
heights of Illumination!

Caught in this magic web of the Real,

Sita saw nor beginning
nor end, the still centre was everywhere
and the boundary nowhere.

As her soul went in search of the Divine,
didn’t all Asoka, Lanka,
all the world, join in the great adventure,
coalescing and hastening?

She pursued, and the Divine gave the slip,
or teasingly, blindingly,

popped up here — there! — though still elusive, till

she found Him within at last. 756

Now in broad daylight, she met the keen gaze
of the floral opulence

around, and breathed the choicest fragrances
from the extensive pleasance.

752

753

754

755

757

349 Hanuman and Ravana

A whole multitude of hibiscus flames
speaking the language of love,
beauty, bliss of creative ecstasy

and the plenitude of grace; 758

and Kadamba with its orange-yellow
magnificence and promise
of the transformation of the darkness
by the supramental Sun; 759

the jasmine with its simple purity
and scented single whiteness,
and the Kumuda white water-lily,
and tender Parijata; 760

and pointed Champaka strongly perfumed
and strikingly cream-yellow,
causing a sure movement of consciousness

towards inner perfection; 761

chrysanthemums of a jumble of hues
exuding vitality,

and sweet basil insinuating the joy

of the coming reunion: 762

and orange-red Asoka declaring
the annulment of sorrow,
and the many-petalled golden lotus

enshrining her Raghava! 763

All Nature, the scented glory of greens
and the rhythm and music
of the Grove’s pulsating inhabitants
made Earth a smiling heaven. 764

The colour-ranges from the dense and dark
at the base to the orange
and sapphire of the high altitudes formed

a rainbow-apocalypse. 765

For the first time since the brutal transplant
from Panchavati, Sita
felt a great peace descend and permeate

all her body, mind and soul. 760

Ah . . . but what was that? There was some tumult
in the air with birds and beasts
making weird noises, trees breaking, falling
and unleashing confusion

767

350 Sitayana

Shaken from their slumber, the wardresses
went round and saw ’twas the work
of a monkey, perhaps the one they had
seen retreating from Sita.

Some rushed to her and queried: “What is it?

Who is it? Whence has it come?

Didn’t you hold converse with this huge monster?
There’s no danger in telling!”

But Sita answered non-committally :

“How should I know? It’s for you
to ferret out who he is, what he’ll do:
one snake knows another’s moves!”

Left once more to herself, Sita wondered
at the new development :
what was the reason for this commotion?

Was it Maruti indeed?

Her own small space around the Simsupa
seemed rather insulated,
but beyond, — the Temple itself crashing.

Hell seemed to have been let loose.

Racing fast, the Sun was already up
in the sky, and still Sita
held herself in suspense near her peaceful
hospitable Simsupa.

Now rushed to her Trijata, her faithful
friend and counsellor, and told
a breath-taking tale of the Vanara’s
rampaging activities.

“Would you believe it, Maithili,” she asked,

“that entirely by himself,
this giant monkey could have engineered
havoc on so great a scale?

It beggars all myth and legend, — listen:

first the mauling of the Grove;
next, the swift killing of the Kinkaras ;
then, the Teniple in ruins!

And each time, having done his handiwork
with wild precipitancy,
the terrific creature settled itself
at the Asoka gateway.

351 Hcmuman and Ravana

Mountain-like in his awesome majesty,
wielding the heavy crow-bar
as a personal weapon for offence
and defence, the creature cried: 778

i’m the Wind-God’s son, Hanuman; I serve
Rama the Kosala Prince
who’s the hero of numberless exploits;
and I’m the foe of his foes. 779

I’m used to fighting my battles with trees,
rocks and crow-bars, and I can
bear down in a thousand ways ; a thousand
Ravairas cannot shock me.

Even as the Titans dumbly look on,

I shall raze down this city,
salute the wronged Maithili, and return
to Rama feeling fulfilled.’

With such report , *^ming in, Ravana
was alarmed, for this n onkey,

Hanuman, Rama’s envoy, put to shame
the total might of Lanka,

After the destruction oi the Temple,
growing anxious, Ravana
despatched Jambumali, the doughty son
of Minister Prahasta,

Jambumali fared no better, and now
Lanka’s King, his eyes rolling,
sent the seven ministers’ sons, fire-bright,

strong-limbed fighters, all of them. 784

To no purpose, again: the Vanara,
having killed the warriors
and ready for others, returned once more
*to his seat on the gateway. 785

No.laughing matter this, thought Ravana,
and sent forth the five heroes:

Vimpaksha, Yupaksha, Durdhara,

Pragasa, Bhasakarna. 786

Ablaze like fire, the Big Five sallied forth
in their chariots, converged
on strong, resolute, reckless Hanuman,
and discharged their lethal darts.

780

781

782

783

787

352 Sit ay ana

In vain, for the puissant Vanara made
short work of them all, wielding
sal tree, hill-top, whatever came handy,
and returned to the gateway. 788

As Ravana grew visibly nervous,
he saw his bright son, Aksha,
who received the King’s command by a look
and went for the Vanara. 789

A clash of mighty opposites ensued,
and while Aksha’s archery
wrung the great Vanara’s admiration,

that brave Prince too had to die. 790

Now back at the ornamental gateway,

Hanuman sat on its crest
and blazed like the Lord of Death awaiting

the next spate of destruction. 791

Preserving his outer poise, Lanka’s King
turned in his extremity
to his brave son, impatient Indrajit,
invincible in battle: 792

‘Even as I send you on this mission
my heart prompts me against it :
and yet this is the true chivalric Code
appropriate to kingship. 793

I almost think this is no m^re monkey,
an oversized forester,
but the Almighty come down in this form

to avenge my transgressions. 794

How else could he wield rocks, tree-trunks, crow-bars
as weapons of war, causing
destruction on a scale we had not seen,

f

and a gory menace still! 795

’With a massive killer like this monster,
armies are of little use;
neither can the sharp vajra be a help,

for he excels Vayu’s strength. 796

O conqueror of enemies! practise
all the arts and science of war,
bui the best use of war issues only
from the defeat of the foe.’

797

353 Hanuman and Ravana

In the hectic engagement that followed,
the ferocious combatants
were evenly matched, and the 'Archer failed
to break the Vanara’s strength.

‘If he cannot be killed,’ thought Indrajit,

‘let me capture him at least;
thus determined, he loosed the Brahma-shaft,
and Maruti submitted.

Indrajit’s minions now bound with strong cords
the mountainous Vanara,
and they’re converging with the prized captive
to the presence of the King.

O Maithili, while I rushed to tell you
all this, Anala has gone
to the Court and will presently return
and report what happens there.

But there’s no dpt'eat on Hanuman’s face:

he looks truly triumphant,
as though this confrontation with the King
is exactly what he wants.”

Trijata’s brisk narrati" c c! events
left Maithili in a daze,
and she didn’t know what to make of it all,
and could only turn inward.

At once informative and comforting,

Trijata dispelled Sita’s
apprehensions regarding Rav ana’s
predictable reprisals.

Some time after Trijata had taken
leave of Sita promising
she would return later, a Rakshasi
came with glee to give fresh news :

‘‘Th^t same red-complexioned monkey, Sita,
that lately conversed with vou,
the same is being pushed and knocked about
with his tail-end set on fire!”

Abandoned to her anguish, Sita prayed
from her heart’s profoundest depths :

“If I’ve loved Rama, if I’m chaste and pure.
Fire! be cool to Hanuman!

354 Sit ay am

If Rama the ensoulment of Dharma
yet believes in the scriptures
of my faith, my desire for reunion;

Fire! be cool to Hanuman!

If with steadfast Sugriva’s help, Rama
is destined to rescue me
from this sad dungeon of captivity.

Fire! be cool to Hanuman T

Sita’s seething mind was hardly able
to keep pace with the events:
suppose Hanuman came to grief, what then?
No, no, it must not happen !

Just then, as a welcome fair wind of change,
the resourceful Anala
brought a weighty basket of latest news
concerning the Vanara:

“Sita, Sita, wonders will never cease,
and oh! the things I’ve witnessed!

You know Indrajit bound the Vanara
with the infallible dart :

out of respect for Brahma, Hanuman
lay as one willingly bound,
thereby hoping to confront Ravana
and take his proper measure.

But when the oafs bound- Maruti with cords,
gone was the shaft’s potency ;
yet the Vanara shammed submission still,
though Indrajit wasn’t deceived.

Arrived at the Court, a tense atmosphere
awaited Anjaneya :

the King had lost Aksha, and Prahasta
his dear son, Jambumali.

And other dignitaries had suffered
likewise, and were resentful ;
but, then, the Vanara had a bearing
which seemed to compel respect.

When Prahasta, as ordered by the King,
addressed sly leading questions,

Hanuman avoided all evasion
and gave a forthi ght answer :

355 Hanuman and Ravana

‘Know me, O King, as Prince Rama’s envoy
and Sugriva’s Minister.

Rama, King Dasaratha’s scfti, married
Sita, Janaka’s daughter.

In the woods, the chaste and holy Sita,
left alone, was found stolen ;

Rama’s ally, King Sugriva’s millions
are seeking her everywhere.

Arrived here, and exploring your Lanka,

1 discovered her at last
in Asoka Grove in the neighbourhood
of your vast palace complex.

0 wise Ruler! you are schooled in Dharma,
you’ve won the fruits of tapas\

it’s not proper for you to seek to force
another’s wife to your will.

Take my cons* -!, King, and forthwith return
Sita to Rama her i ord ;

I’ve found her here, but the rest of the tale
is for Rama to ordain.

Having had darsho' of Sita, I sense
the Infinite behind her ;

1 warn you, you’re harbouring unware
a fell five-hooded serpent!

The same that you see as Sita, the same
you’ve cruelly imprisoned,
know her for the Night of Dissolution
hovering over Lanka.

Exorcise this burden on your shoulders,
this certain embrace of Death
j^ou’ve invited on yourself by seizure
of Sita: undo the wrong!

Lpok, look at Lanka with its tall buildings
caught in conflagration ''aused
by Rama’s blazing anger and Sita’s
brazier of chastity.’

On hearing these fearless and truthful words
that were unpalatable,

with wild and wnirling eyes the enraged King
ordered Hanuman’s killing.

356 Sitayana

Ravana’s leap of spite would have silenced
the Council to acquiescence,
but Vibhishana, my father, argued
against the proposed action : 828

‘The diplomatic Code,’ he said, ‘forbids
the killing of an envoy;
but lesser punishments are permitted,
like token mutilation.’ 829

Ravana accepted the suggestion
with alacrity, adding:

‘For monkeys, the tail is an ornament:
set fire to Hanuman’s tail ! 830

Let his friends and foes gather around him,
and commiserate, or sneer !

Let him be paraded, too, in our streets
with his bright and burning tail!’ 831

The titans with childish glee tied cotton
smeared with oil round the tail-end
and set it on fire : and glowing Sun-like,

Hanuman brandished his tail. 832

He enjoyed being taken round, the fire
hardly paining or spreading ;
and soon the fire was cool like sandal-paste,
or soothing freshening breeze. 833

How was it that induced contact with fire
didn’t spread on all sides of him?

Although the tail-end was ablaze, he felt
no unease or burning pain. 834

Indeed, the fire was like friendly sandal
or ice-bag tied to the tail !

The Grace Divine must have come to his help
and made cool Agni himself. 835

Sure enough Rama’s prowess and glory,

Sita’s compassion, and his
father the Wind-God’s love had made Agni
desist from' njuring him. 836

But Sita, what started happening next
no tongue can describe : provoked
by the taunts of the ogres, Hanuman
split the cords by his main force.

837

357 Hanuman and Havana

leapt like lightning o’er houses, palaces,
streets, monuments; and Mis tail -
still burning like hell-fire — shone with brilliance
and devastated Lanka. 838

All those extravagant residences
with their gold-plated ladders
and casements inlaid with rare gems and pearl
crashed and fell down in a heap. 839

The massive conflagration, equalling
a million Suns, spread over
Lanka* and emitted sounds like thunder

shattering the Cosmic Egg. 840

Among the not many mansions wholly
spared is my father's, but all
Lanka echoes with the lamentations
of those that have lost their all.” 841

Promising to come later, Anala
still visibly excited
went back to the City, for disorder
was the reigning orde’ theie. 842

In time Maruti’s fury too was spent,
he dipped his tail in the sea
and gave vent to introspection about

his incendiary exploits. 843

What, had he devastated the city?

How fared Sita in the Grove?
and Vibhishana, and the numberless

innocents and blameless ones? 844

But just when he grovelled at the nadir
of depression of spirits,

his mind cleared, he saw good omens, and heard

voices that were auspicious. 845

•

After all, could Agni go an'^wherc
near the self-protected and
holy and chaste Sita- wife of Rama ! —

and incarnate blessedness! S-io

If deathless Agni, with his terrible
propensity to burn all —
everywhere! — had failed to scorch Hanuman,
how could he approach Sita?

847

358 Sitarami

He rushed to the foot of the Simsupa.

made obeisance to Sita,
felt transcendentally happy, and stood
respectful to take her leave. 848

The parting was extremely poignant.

and while Sita said anew ;

“Let Rama take me back to Ayodhya.

I await his arrival,” 849

Hanuman gave the solemn assurance;

“The immaculate Rama —
the scourge of his foes — will come and destroy
Ravana, and redeem you.” 850

Then, retreating from the Simsupa shade
and Sita’s benign presence,

Hanuman ascended the Arishta

and began his return flight. 851

Twas evening, and the Western orange skies
cast a rare luminous glow
on Sita tranced in waiting, an inner
flame presaging the future.

852

book: f'ive

Canto 45 ; Hanuman Reports

The heroic Vanara, Hanuman,
having seen Sita, disgraced
the Rakshasa, thrown Lanka’s citizens
into confusion, took off

from Arishta, sped through the upper air
a shaft from a taut bow-string!
and while approaching massive Mahendra
roared a peal of victory.

Prince Angada, veteran Jambavan
and the rest were all ready
to receive Hanuman, and know from him
the outcome of his mission.

Having first proclainicd 'SAW SITA’, ending
all anxiety, he met iliem
in a clearance in the woods on the mount,
and became more explicit:

“I met Devi Sita in Asoka
Grove, guarded by ogresses,
she's a steady stainless flame; all her thoughts
are centered in Raghava.

grown pale through fasting, weais a single plait;

her locks unkempt and matted;
such is Sita, King Janaka’s daughter,
whose gracious darshau I had.”

The assembled Vanaras were avid
for a fuller recital
of his adventures, and Maruti too
wasn’t unwilling to respond.

He* spoke of his encounters on the vvay
with friendly Mount Mainaka,
next Surasa the mother of serpents,
then the ogress Simhika;

one way or another, Hanuman could
outwit or have ins own way
with these diversionary intimsions
and hasten towards Lanka.

362 Sitayana

On reaching Ravana’s sea-girt Lanka,
before he could enter it
under cover of night, Hanuman had
to fell Lankini the guard.

Having wasted most of the night looking
for Sita in Ravana’s
apartments and air-car, Pushpaka, and
not finding her anywhere :

he had chanced upon Ravana’s consorts
in the gynaeceum lying
in abandon in their deshabille^
asleep after their revels;

he had seen Ravana himself lying
drunk, stretched in his inconscience;
and Mandodari, his imperious Queen,
resting on another bed;

and he had meticulously explored
all the more likely places
like palace-interiors and arbours —
but nowhere was Sita found !

Then had Hanuman invoked Rama’s Name,
glimpsed Asoka Grove ahead
and from his shelter on a Simsupa
had seen the divine Sita.

“Her limbs were wan,” he said, “she looked wasted,
she wore the same dress she had
when the wicked Ravana forcibly
seized and brought her to Lanka.

She seemed to writhe in agony and shame
being teased from time to time
by the guard, and looked like a trembling doe
surrounded by tigresses.”

Hanuman then spoke of the dawn-time sounds
form Ravana’s residence,
a jumble of girdle and anklet bells
and high-pitched ringing voices.

Now Ravana himself, with his consorts,
had appeared before Sita,
and he both wooed her in extravagant
terms and scared her with his threats.

363 Hanuman Reports

But feeling alike outraged and incensed
by the obstreperous King •
and undeterred by his ruthless two-month
ultimatum, she had said :

“Shameless Rakshasa! It’s astonishing
that, when you dare to address
such vicious words to mighty Rama’s wife,
your diseased tongue falls not dead!’’

When she further charged him with cowardice
and sheer meanness of spirit,
he had rolled his blood-red eyes and raised his
fist as if he would hit her,

but the ugly situation was saved
by Mandodari the Queen
and the other consorts, who hurriedly
led away the Rakshasa.

Hanuman then described how Sita felt
poised on desperation’s brink,
when Trijata’s dream and some fair omens
revived Maithili once more.

Maruti then set forth how he contrived
to hold converse with Sita,
and received her crest-jcwel as token
to be given to Rama.

When Sita had expressed her disbelief
the Vanara army could
cross the sea, Hanuman had assured her
none was his inferior,

and all were superior or equal,
and certainly the body
of Vanaras and bears would be able
to storm the gates of Lanka.

She had then given her parting message:

“If I’m not rescued within
the allowed grace-time. I’ll surely die, and
Rama won’t see me alive.”

The fire of agony within Sita
had kindled Hanuman’s rage,
and having taken leave of her, he had
got busy mauling the Grove.

364 Sitayana

He had wished too to measure Lanka’s strength
and defence dispositions,
and create a chance to confront the King
and warn him what lay in store.

And Maruti told with relish the tale
of the divers engagements
with Lanka's veterans and armed forces,
and the panic he had caused.

Submitting at last to the Brahma-shaft,
he had wangled a meeting
with Ravana and spoken forthrightly
of the wages of evil.

Of Vibhishana and of the burning
of Lanka, Hanuman spoke,
and of the further meeting with Sita,
and the flight back to the Mount.

After this quick recapitulation
of the exciting events,

Hanuman paused for a while in distress
till at last he found his voice:

‘‘My mind knew peace when 1 saw Maithili
the pure flame of chastity;
although nonpareil in her askesis
she yet abides in anguish.

Holy and immaculate, verily
like Indrani’s absorption
in her Lord is Sita’s single-minded
consecration to Rama.

Like a frightened fawn, like lotus covered
by frost: such is Sita’s plight!

What can be done now for retrieving her
has to be debated on.”

The moving speech that recalled in detail,
both his heroic actions
and the sad phght of Sita in the Grove,
provoked Angada to plead :

“Comrades, since we now know how matters stand,
it would hardly be proper
for us to advance to Rama’s presence,
unless we have Sita too.

365 Hanuman Reports

Singly has Anjaneya made his mark
in Lanka : let’s now finish
the job under Jambavan’s lead* and take
Sita with us to Rama.”

Intervening, Jambavan told the Prince
that what he was suggesting
would exceed Rama’s commission — to find
Sita, not to bring her back.

Rama wouldn’t like, said Jambavan, Sita's
retrieval to be achieved
by another than himself : ’twas wisdom
to resfiiect Rama’s resolve.

The Vanaras endorsed the suggestion
for return to Kishkindha,
and buoyed up by the happy consensus
prepared for the homeward flight.

All had the one ecstatic wish to tell
the great news to Ragiiava,
and all were ready for war to help nim
fight Ravana and worst him.

Like mountain-fragmercS sliot into the air,
like wind-driven cloud-clusters,
the Vanara speed-fiends in orderly
sequence flew across the sky.

On the way they halted at Nandana,

Sugriva’s famed Honey Grove,
and honey-hued themselves, they felt templed
and sought leave of Angada.

The exuberance was universal,
and the license to indulge
made the Vanaras lose all self-control,
and many gambolled and danced.

Such indeed was their intoxication
that they grew wild and narghty
when the caretaker, Dadimukha, tried
to restrain the revellers.

Hastening in despair to Sugriva,

Dadimukha made report
of the havoc caused in the Honey Grove
by the drunken Vanaras.

366 Sitayana

But the King read the intended message:

the unseemly excitment
only meant the success of the mission —
Hanuman had found Sita!

Now Dadimukha flew back to the Grove
and informed the now sobered
Vanaras that Sugriva awaited
their expeditious return.

Happy and proud because of Hanuman’s
unique feat, the flying hosts
as they neared Kishkindha made noises like
‘kila, kila’ in their joy.

Noticing Angada’s advancing front
from a distance, Sugriva
savoured success, and turning to Rama
spoke words of soothing import :

‘Take heart, for auspicious news approaches;

Sita has been discovered ;
were it otherwise, they wouldn’t come with such
a show of jubilation.

O Rama, noble son of Kausalya,

Maruti alone, none else,
could have accomplished this difficult task,
for he has wisdom, courage,

will, capacity, skill in works — and this
conjunction of qualities
is native to him, like light to the Sun:
cast aside all affliction !

An expedition led by Angada,
counselled by Jambavan, and
excuted in all exactitude
by Hanuman cannot fail.”

Now the enthralled Vanara warriors,
their bright faces reflecting
their inner fulfilment, stepped on the ground
near Raii'a and Sugriva ;

and making his obeisance, Hanuman
spoke the ringing words, “Sita,
chaste and holy and inviolable,

Sita has been seen by me!”

367 Hanuman Reports

While Lakshmana beamed with joy and cast on
Sugriva a grateful look,

Rama turned with love to the Wind-God’s son
and exuded calm delight.

In their excess of enthusiasm,
for a while the Vanaras
spoke all at the same time of Maithili’s
travail mid the ogresses ;

of her total absorption in Rama,
of the cruel time-limit
imposed by Ravana, of her patient
ask;.psis of sufferance.

When Rama, feeling immensely relieved,
asked for a fuller report,
the Vanaras nodded to Hanuman
the master of correct speech.

After a silent inner obeisance
to Sita, Maruti gave
in all its tense circumstantial detail
the story of his mission :

the flight to Lanka, ine vain search followed
by the leap into the Grove,
the finding of the chaste and fair Sita
cast among the ogresses;

how he won her confidence by hymning
the tale of Rama’s exile ;
how she felt relieved hearing of the pact
with the mighty Sugriva ;

and how, for a token, she had given
her marvellous crest-jewel,
and for another, she had vividly
recalled the crow episode;

and having accurately reproduced
the Kakasura story,

Maruti concluded his narrative
citing Sita’s own message:

''‘One more token; once in the woods, when my
tilak had come off, you touched
my forehead with a rock’s mineral dust
and made the red mark anew.

368 Sitayana

ril suffer this life only for the rest
of the grace-time given me :
and beyond that. I’ll not consent to breathe
amidst these foul Rakshasas!'

These are Sita’s words : and now, Raghava,
all that’s needed has been said.

What remains is to mobilise our arms
and build a bridge to Lanka.”

Hanuman’s touching tale of his sojourn
to Lanka, the sight and feel
of Sita’s crest-jewel, and her melting
message meant anguish and tears,

and Rama turned to the King: “A calf makes
a cow’s udders fill with milk;
so too my heart is charged with emotion
seeing this best of jewels.

’Twas Janaka gave it to Maithili
at the time of our wedding,
and worn by her it gave her added grace —

I think I see her again !

Alas, what can cause greater pain to me
than the sight of this rare Pearl
found in water and worn on Sita’s head,
but now torn away from her!

Sita will tolerate her misery-
for a while longer, no more;
and now that we know the worst, let’s take steps
to reclaim Sita in time.”

The thought of Sita being terrorised
by taunts and threats, and living
in dread in an alien atmosphere
was a stab of shame and pain,

and Rama once again asked Hanuman
to describe Vaidehi’s frame
of mind, and whether her bright face hadn’t paled
like the cloud-shaded full Moon.

In the course of his reply, Hanuman
referred to his spontaneous
offer to carry Sita and reach her
to her dear Rama at once :

369 Hanuman Reports

“But the divine Maithili only said
she couldn’t by herself toucti me;
with Ravana, she was forced, she was dazed,
helpless — and what could she do?

80

And she added: 'You should promptly go back,
worthy Vanara, counsel

Rama, help him to destroy Ravana,
and then take me back with him.’

81

1 promised Sita that, brave like tigers,
you would come with Lakshmana
aided by the Vanara hosts with claws
and teeth for their deadly arms;

82

and 1 told her: 'You’ll see Rama, having
destroyed his enemy and
completed his forest-life, speed you back
to be crowned in Ayodhyal’

83

With my part’:ig »ords of well-reasoned hope
concerning coming events,

Maithili saw the end of her despair
and felt the descent of peace.”

84

In his infinite gratitude. Rama
held Hanuman in a close
embrace, for nothing could be as priceless
as the gift of his own self.

85

An exemplarly envoy, Maruti
had carried out Sugriva’s
commission, and improved on it as well
in a significant way.

86

The pressing next question, of course, remained.

the quick mobilisation
of the Vanara hosts, and their crossing
the sea and reaching Lanka.

87

Sugriva on his part assured Rama
that the Vanara army,
comprising tested warriors, would prove
• quite war-worthy when tested.

88

Hanuman then gave a measured account
of the lay-out of Lanka,
its citadels, ramparts, moats, draw-bridges
and network of defences.

89

370 Sitavana

Hanuman spoke too — though in a low key —
about his own involvement;
and certainly the Vanara heroes

would surpass the Rakshasas. 90

Feeling relieved, Rama gave directions
for Sugriva’s mobilised
power to proceed southward, with Nila
as the Commander-in-Chief: 91

and Gaya, Gavaya and Gavaksha,

Angada and Jambavan,
and Rama, Lakshmana and Sugriva,

all had their respective roles. 92

Hanuman, as the link between Rama
and Sugriva, and between
Kishkindha and Lanka, was verily
the mind and heart of the whole. 93

And so the mighty Vanara army,
like a broad river in spate,
massed and heaved and moved majestically

and raced towards the far South. 94

As Lakshmana noticed, divers omens -
the cool breeze, the birds cooing,
the happy disposition of the stars —

conveyed their robust message. 95

The splendid army, as it swept southward,
kept clear of cities, and marched
with order as well as speed, and crossed hills
and rivers with equal ease. 96

When they reached Mahendra at last, Rama
surveyed on one side the sea
and on the other the nobly arrayed

sea of Vanaras and Bears. 97

Quartered in the woodland near the seashore,
the excited army viewed
the -sea and its manifold denizens
with delight, wonder and awe. 98

Yet once more for a while Rama gave vent
to melancholy musing
about Maithili’s sad and wasted months
in Ravana’s custody

99

371 Hamman Reports

“Ah Lakshmana,” he wailed m his anguish ,

“when shall 1 destroy my foes,
rescue my beloved, and set my eyes
upon dear Sita again 100

Saumitri, however, offered solace
and all reasoned grounds of hope,
and presently the Sun set, and darkness

and sleep blanketed the Camp 101

Canto 45 ; Vibhishana

And meanwhile, across the sea in Lanka,
a tense dramatic sequence
was pitilessly unfolding itself
answering the jerks of fate.

After Hanuman’s tonic intrusion
into her insulation
near the Simsupa in Asoka Grove,

Sita was a changed woman.

The outer circumstances were the same
yet wore a different hue :
even the despicable wardresses
behaved less odiously.

Time still seemed to crawl at a petty pace
while Maithili held herself
in patience feeling caged in penumbra,
swaying between hope and fear.

And just when she was about to acquiesce
in the flow-tide of despair,
her dear friends, Anala and Trijata,
brought the most astounding news.

Hanuman’s recent explosive visit
had clearly thrown Ravana
into discomfiture, and he well knew
that worse, much worse, was to come.

The escaped Hanuman would explain all
to the aggrieved Raghava,
who must soon, with Sugriva’s Vanaras,
invade Lanka in sheer strength.

Reacting half in fear and half in rage,
the King had called a conclave
of his close advisers the previous day
for a free exchange of views.

But Ravana’s domineering presence
had rather inhibited
discussion, and Vibhishana alone

had Qtrnrlf a disrrvrdant nnt»»

373 Vibhishana

Commenting on the conclave, Anala
said with withering contempt
that slaves and sycophants acted alike
in a time of fair weather.

After Ravana had spoken, stressing
the peril from overseas,
citing Hanuman’s phenomenal feats
and the potential behind,

the brazen toadies but cried with one voice ;

“O King, you’re invincible;
why, then, all this anxiety concerning
a mob of monkeys and bears?”

Prahasta, Durmukha, Vajradhamshtra
made comparable noises,
while Vajrahanu had boasted he would
swallow all the Vanaras.

Vibhishana alont had. in the name
of Dharma, strongly pleaded
for amity and peace, and the return
of Maithili to her Lord.

"Where were these brave fire-eating warriors”
he asked, "when that Vanara
went about rampaging in our Lanka
setting the City on fire?

What did Durmukha and Prahasta do?

or Vajradhamshtra either?

And was Vajrahanu not hungry then,
since he didn’t eat up the ape?

Not one now, but tens of thousands of them,
so many fierce Hanumans,
ase camping on the shore beyond tbe sea :
prudence pleads for peace, not war.”

Thte King then brusquely dismissed the conclave,
but Vibhishana, after
a night’s inner debate, wished to renew
his high-powered plea for peace.

The strong ties of kinship and loyalty
to Lanka’s King on one side,
the categorical imperatives
of Dharma on the other :

374 Sitayana

thus see-sawing between the opposites
the hours had exhausted him,
but he knew at last that the lower law
must give place to the higher.

And when the dawn brightened the East at last,
his mind finally made up,

Vibhishana rushed to the King’s presence
and pictured poor Lanka’s plight :

“Since you brought Vaidehi here, the evil
omens are multiplying :
the sacred fire won’t burn, and ants are found
in our choicest oblations.

Cows fail to give milk, horses are listless,
mules, asses, camels shudder,
the menacing vultures hover above,
and jackals howl viciously.”

It was in this awesome predicament
that Ravana’s word went round
that he would hold the Council this morning
and have the issue opened.

“A well-attended meeting,” Anala
continued; “Stalwarts, elders,

Ministers, close relations, were all there
in humped anticipation.

Even Kumbhakarna had come, awake
after a long spell of sleep ;
and governed by his stern sense of duty,
my dear father was there too.

The Hall was worthy of the occasion,
one of Visvakarma’s feats;
and some councillors carried maces, clubs,
javelins, spears and hatchets.

Addressing Kumbhakarna pointedly,

Ravana spoke of Sita,
of his mighty infatuation for her,
and of Rama s enmity.

He also recalled the incredible
exploits of the lone monkey,

Rama’s envoy, and what might be in store
for Lanka in the future.

375 Vihhishana

Hearing this now for the first time, the great
slumberer, Kumbhakarna, .
charged Ravana with seeking their counsel
when ’twas already too late.

Had he consulted them before he planned
the abduction of Sita,

that would have been proper, but now remained
nothing but fighting the foe.

Mahaparsva intervened and advanced
the sniggering suggestion
that the. King should possess Sita by force
and end the uncertainty.

Now out came the high fantastical truth:

he had once disrobed and forced
Punjikasthali, Brahma’s grand-daughter,
and brought this curse on himself.

Should Ravana ever tiy his brute strength
on an unwilling woman,
that very moment his head would splinter
into a thousand fragments!

So, then, Maithili, ’tis this mortal tear
that has so far saved the King
from succumbing to the last temptation
and inviting instant death.

Once more it was my father’s turn to speak,
and first he castigated
the lewd and cynical Mahaparsva
for his time-serving advice;

then he spoke of Rama’s great skill in arms,
and lastly, in Lanka’s name,
urged the Council to advise Ravana
to opt for the path of peace.

And, as if in answer to Ravana’s
false sense of security

with the boons he had secured from Brahma,

' my father made bold to say:

‘My King, my elder brother, my father:

my duty makes me speak out
and utter a grave warning, since mortal
danger lies in wait for you.

376 Sitayana

It’s the secret of all god-given boons,
when Asura, Rakshasa
or any other wrests them from Above
by power of tapasya:

that the boons lull the ear with assurance
while waiting to break the heart !

Let me cite in illustration the fate
of Hiranyakasipu.

An Asuric colossus, his tapas
had won for him a package
of boons granting immunity from death
by day or night, beast or man.

When later the issue was joined between
Hiranya and Prahlada
his son who worshipped Vishnu and not his
own father as the true God :

after an orgy of persecutions
that left Prahlada immune,
the blasphemous tyrant provoked at last
the Man-Lion avatar;

and this neither- Man-nor- Beast made short work
of Hiranya in the hour
between day and night, aye on the threshold
that was neither “in” nor “out”!

There’s this lesson to be learnt, O great King;

the Man-Lion, then; and now
Rama, the puissant Man: and your boons don’t
cover death by hand of Man.

’Twas not Hanuman’s muscle but the fire
of the imprisoned Sita’s
chastity that destroyed half of Lanka ;

’twould be wise to return her.

This roused the wrath of youthful Indrajit
who dared to charge my father
with cowardice, and boasted of his own
matchless prowess and powers.

Stung to the quick, Vibhishana hit back
and called Indrajit a boy
without judgement, a cruel, conceited,
wayward and wicked creature.

377 Vibhishana

This struck predictable fire in the King
who branded Vibhishana
the scheming enemy within, *the false
friend, the family’s disgrace. 151

In his turn, my father accused the King
of adharma, and declared
he would withdraw from Lanka, since his words
of Truth displeased his brother. 152

Thus fire drew forth fire, and my sad father
with four loyal supporters
left the Council Hall — and Lanka as well —
and ilew in quest of Rama. 153

I knew father’s mind : these last few weeks since
the Vanara made havoc
in Lanka and returned unscathed, something

had been pressing upon him; 154

strange his behaviour, sometimes talking
to himseU' or muttering
the name ‘Rama’, or seemingly balanced
for some decisive action. 155

I’ve seen him tense at times, as if under
the weight of some compulsion
that he neither knew how to bear with ease

nor how best to wish away. 156

Clearly he was caught in the interim
between the seminal thought
and the irretrievable key-action

on which so much would depend! 157

A battle of loyalties, and the heart
rocked by an insurrection
^ith the issue fatefully joined between

the devil and the Divine! 158

Dear Sita, we’re being overtaken
by events we’re unable
to comprehend: like puppets we’re playing
■ our parts, — who knows to what end? 15^>

I was in the Council Hall observing
the actors in the drama :
and in a sudden but startling moment
’twas as though the masks were gone;

160

378 Sitayana

and there was neither King nor courtier,

I saw not father, uncles,
cousins, kinsmen, Lanka's citizenry, -
only the Spectre of Doom !

161

I don’t know, perhaps I’m imagining
things, perhaps it’s the outcome
of father’s precipitate withdrawal
from god-forsaken Lanka;

162

but something tells me we’re on the threshold
of stupendous happenings,
and all we can do is to tune ourselves
to endurance, hope and faith.

163

And Sita, I heard it being bruited
about in the corridors
that Rama’s unimaginably vast
army of bears and monkeys, —

164

think of it: thousands, hundreds of thousands
of menacing Vanaras,
all like the incredible Hanuman,
quartered just across the sea !

165

My feeling is that father and his four
gallant lieutenants have made
for the northern shore to seek audience
of Rama and Sugriva.

166

What a wrench it must have been for them all
to leave home and family,
friends, relations and the familiar scenes,
and leap into the Unknown !

167

But Sita, one must hold tight, however
ambiguous the currents,
for surely some unseen Omnipotence
is subtly shaping our ends.”

«

168

A brief silence descended upon them
of a piece with the twilight
truce hour between late evening and the night
with its imponderables.

169

Slowly the separate identities
felt drawn into a mystic
communion, and yet the three companions
retained their different selves.

170

379 Vibhishana

Anala was feeling half-exhausted
by her non-stop recital
of the forenoon drama of flattery
first, then decisive dissent.

Maithili felt her pulse quicken somewhat
thinking of Vibhishana’s
definitive act of affirmation,
and his flight to Rama’s Camp.

As for Trijata, when Anala’s words
sank into her consciousness,
she seemed to lapse into a sort of trance,
then her eyes opened, she saw!

"I see, 1 see,” she cried as though a flash
had thrown to her sudden gaze
a Vision, a revelation splendid,
and all else was blotted out;

oh flash upon flash, with brief intervals,
and the tense divine diaina
seemed to be enacted in no more than
a few memorable scenes :

“Ah, 1 see my noble father again
armed as befits his station,
poised in mid-air surrounded by his four,
and all about to descend.

A black-out, and another tearing flash :

they’ve landed, and now confront
suspicious Sugriva, for he takes them
for Ravana’s scheming spies.

Again the golden flash, the rich tableau:

Sugriva speaks to Rama —

WG^nder of wonders, now 1 can both see
and hear the protagonists.

Spldndorous is Rama’s divine image,
and by his side, Lakshmana's:
the same I had seen in my dream some weeks
ago here in Asoka !

Once in my younger days, Sita, I had
journeyed towards Himavant
along with several fellow-pilgrims,
and halted in Ayodhya.

380 Sitayana

Late in the evening we went to the shrine
of the all-compassionate
and munificent Madhavi, Mother
Goddess of life, love and light.

That was when I first saw you, Maithili,
with Rama and Lakshmana :
you had come unattended by a guard
with no care for protocol.

It was soon after your marriage, Sita,
and the glow of holiness,
trebled with morning freshness and beauty,
cast a mighty spell on me.

This was how, almost fifteen years after,
when I saw you here under
such tragically changed circumstances,

I had the shock of my life.

This was how again, when I had my dream —
that contrapuntal sequence —

I could at once figure out the faces
and fortunes of the Brothers.

Ah the light clears, now I see the great soul :

he is all rapt attention
when Sugriva, Hanuman and others
set forth their respective views.

All but Hanuman see Vibhishana
as a spy, a deceitful
Rakshasa to be quarantined, tested,
and even killed if need be.

Only Hanuman rises well above
all the varied tiers and coils
of stock responses and first impressions,
and recommends asylum.

But mark — oh how can I describe the grace,
the glory on Rama’s face ;
he has heard all, weighed all, and in the calm
lucidity of hi: soul,

and as if dispensing a verity
eternal, self-evident,
he now enunciates the all-sufficing
Law of Surrender and Grace :

381 Vibhishana

‘It’s not my nature to reject any
who comes to me offering ,
his friendship, although he may secretly
be harbouring some evil.’

Rama cites the seminal example
of the bereaved dove, whose spouse
a woodman had killed, feeding with its flesh
the guilty hunter himself!

if a frail bird, and one bereaved as well,
did once save its guilt-laden
supplicant, how can Rama of the famed
race of the Raghus do less?

The categorical imperative
of Rishi Kandu ordains
the giving of asylum, should even
a foe seek one’s protection.

With my Ann adhesion to Kandu’s Law,

I must needs grant asylum,
regardless of his background, to one who
supplicates saying I’m thine!'

After this burst of Sunrise, Sugriva
and the doubters are convinced;
and I see my anxious Sire being led
before the divine Presence.

I see my father with his loyal four
at resplendent Rama’s feet
and hear the throbbing words: ‘I’ve left Lanka
behind: I’m now thine alone.’

And Rama says: ‘Welcome Vibhishana
as yet another brother,
th^ seventh, after we four Kakutslhas,
and Guha and Sugriva.’

Wfiat a moment of transfiguration:

don’t 1 see the gentle rain
of Rama’s Grace meeting the ardent fires
'rising from the supplicants?”

This was perhaps too overpowering
for the psychic Trijata,
for she collapsed into Maithili’s arms
as though feeling e.xhausted.

382 Sitavana

Sita exchanged significant glances
with wide-awake Anala,
and they both felt infinitely grateful'
for the wondrous transmission.

When Trijata later opened her eyes,
she smiled and muttered faintly:
“Have no fear, Sita, now all will be well
Grace has taken things in hand.”

Canto 47 ; The War Begins

When Anala and Trijata had left
Maithili alone amid
Asoka’s mystic silences, broken
now and then by weird noises,

she calmly made a reasoned assessment
of the unfolding future,
and was in a robuster frame of mind
than she could have imagined.

Yet the long hours of the night seemed longer
than the intolerable

hours of day-time waiting, waiting, eating
her heart out in misery.

She sighed, she held speechless conversations
with the friendly Sims>ipa,
she idly gazed, as so often before,
at the starry canopy.

Was she lonely, she mused with a wan smile.

when she was truly en ringed
by such opulent flora and fauna
and the scintillating sky.

Sometimes she recalled her Mithilan days.

her sessions with the Rishis
when they spoke of plateaus of consciousness
waking, dreaming and deep sleep.

And, again, of the pulls of the vital,
the gymnastics of the mind,
the see-saw of the desire-sell's spauing,
the poise of the witness Self.

In Asoka’s surcharged air, Maithili
reviewed the crazy drama
of her life from the vantage castle-seal
of her immaculate Self.

The vicissitudinous lyric-song
struck the variegated notes
of phenomenal life, but the Witne,ss
was the Bass that sustained all.

384 Sitayana

After a prolonged and uneasy stretch
of Time, Sita grew aware
once more of the seething life around her
and the coming of her friends. 212

As if unable to contain herself,

Anala spoke with gusto:

“There’s so much to tell, Sita, and how fast
the scenario cha nges ! 213

After Father’s defiant departure,

Ravana was in jitters
and sent Sardula to meet Sugriva
with the plausible appeal: 214

Tf I stole Maithili, what's that to >ou.

O Sugriva? Let’s be friends’’

But Sardula returned empty-handed,
and damaged in the pioccss. 215

Ravana fumed in his discomfituie,
and when news came of* large-scale
troop movements ncai the sea, he sent more spies
to report on the latest 216

Suka and Sarana hurried back soon
with the most alarming news.

‘O great King! the tongue falters to describe
what the eye and ear have learnt.

Vibhishana, accepted as ally,
has been crowned King of Lanka,
and the Vanara engineeis have built
a broad causeway to this isle.

Indeed, Rama’s peaceful approach failing,
he had to threaten a quick
drying up of the green heaving waters
before the Sea-God saw sense

and agreed to the laying of a dam
that would connect with Lanka :
and the construction was master-minded
by the architect, Nala. 220

Marvellous, O King, is the Vanaras’
handiwork, the mighty dam
one hundred Yojanas long laid across
the sea in only five days.

217

218

221

385 The War Begins

No mean feat for Nala, super-builder,
and the hordes of supporting
Vanaras and Bears that brought rocks and trees
and out of them shaped the dam.

And now, O great King, Rama’s battalions,
like the sea’s heaving billows,
have made for our shore, and are well quartered
in Lanka’s vicinity.

And Rama sent word through me, O brave King,
that the assault would begin
tomorrow, and that might be the tocsin
for the finish of your reign.

The army of the Vanaras, the might
of Rama and Lakshmana,

Sugriva and Vibhishana, threaten
Lanka with decimation.

O gallant King, the battle-worthiness
of the oceanic army

of the Vanaras makes U5 plead for peace
and the return of Sita.’

Ravana was, however, like one doomed
beyond hope of retrieval,
and only ordered the spies to show him
who was who among his foes.

And so they dimed up to the dizziest
height around, and Sarana
pointed out with his finger one by one
the assembled warriors:

That huge Vanara, O King, is Nila
the generalissimo ;

the one next to him is Prince Angada,

■the late Vali’s puissant son.

There, dominant among their followers,
foom Sveta and Kumuda;
and see yonder the majestic Chanda,

Saraba and Panasa.

And more and more, O mighty Rakshasa,
see there the gallant Rambha,
the massive Vinata and Gavaya,
and the hoary Jambavan.’

222

223

224

225

226

227

228

229

230

231

386 Sitayana

It was now Suka's turn, and he guided
Ravana’s attentive gaze
to the youthful Dvividha and Mainda
and specially Hanuman:

‘I don’t need, O King of the Rakshasas,
to recall the arrival
in Lanka of this incendiary ape
and the havoc he caused here.

And there, theie, backg.ounded by Hanuman,
see the suie archer Rama
flanked by Lakshmana, and the two allies,
Sugriva, Vibhishana.’

It’s lucky for me, Sita, 1 can slip
in and out of the palace,
the Council Hall, or this Grove, whenever
I have a mind to explore.

Being of the Royal House, after all,
no questions arc asked, and no
irksome restraints are placed on my movements
all this suits me well enough.

And thus it was, O Sita, even I
could catch a glimpse of Rama
the dark-hued conqueror with lotus eyes,
and his curly-haired brother.”

For a while all three were absorbed in thought
when, as i*' stung by a wasp,

Trijata grew visibl> excited,
and her eyes aglow, she cried:

'‘Sita, Sita, bewa.e of Ravana's
trickeries and l.cacheries,
for 1 smell yet anolhe* sorcery
like that fateful decoy dcei.”

And true enough, there was the unseemly
bustle of approaching steps,
the glare of midnight torches, and the loud
fanfare announcing the King.

While Trijata and Anala withdrew
a little, Ravana fixed

his maddened eyes on Maithili, and hissed ;
“Here's Rama, killed in battle!

387 The War Begins

The fool ! with his motley of apes and bears,
he dared to invade Lanka:
when they were asleep at nigHt, my forces
destroyed them, and Rama too.”

And Vidyujjihva, magician-adept,
placed before her the severed
lifeless head of her beloved Rama
and his great how and arrows.

It was as though lightning had struck Sita,
for she collapsed on the ground;
and Ravana too withdrew in alarm
on Summons from the palace.

And the instant Ravana's back was turned,
Maithili opened her eyes
and saw the gruesome spectacle vanish
like the stuff of a nightmare.

Advancing fron- ^'"'ir retreat. Anala
and Trijati^ did then * est
to reassure Vaidehi, still shaken
by sobs, that Rama was safe.

The reports of Sardula, Sarana
and Suka had quite unnerved
Ravana, and in mad desperation
he had turned to sorcery.

I'hat magician-lackey, Vidyujjihva,
must have forged the illusion,
and It became air when the nexus snapped
and left not a rack behind.

Now Sita, having died a thousand deaths
exposed to the severed head,
quifkl> regained the scriptures of her faith,
and even brought out a smile:

'Th^ire’s something despicably cheap and mean
in all Ravana’s doings:
he seemed an ascetic, and proved a thief;
and now, the King’s a mere cheat!”

They were conversing far into the night
with Sita wanting to know
more and still more about the deployment
of the Vanara army;

388 Sitayana

Trijata, speaking spasmodically
about her premonitions
or projecting in the vividest terms

her psychic figurations; 252

and Anala, giving her incisive
conflations of mere hearsay,
investigative insights, and private
explorations and findings: 253

Just then, like a seasonal wind of change,
there flew right into their midst
the high-souled Sarama, Vibhishana’s
spouse and Trijata’s mother. 254

'i couldn’t wait, Sita,” she said, “to send word
through Anala, for events
crowd upon one another, and 1 felt

I must prepare you at once. 255

The fiasco of the false severed head
can only backfire against
the Rakshasa King who has proved himself
a fool, not alone a knave. 256

While there is no dearth of consultations,
he has chosen to ignore
the warnings of his mother, Kaikasi,
and the statesman, Avindhya. 257

‘Was it not enough,’ they asked, ‘that Rama
destroyed Khara, Dushana,
and the fourteen thousand? that Hanuman
screamed havoc over Lanka?’ 258

But his well-wishers and the elders know
that he’s not to be deterred
from his chosen path of self-destruction

by fright or friendly counsel. 259

Reacting to the reverberating
war cries from the Vanara
army, Ravana called at short notice
a meeting of his Council. 260

There ! heard the revered Malayavan,

Ravana’s mother’s uncle,
recommend in the interests of all
a course of conciliation ;

261

389 The War Begins

‘Sita has now become your obsession,

Ravana, and this threatens
all Lanka; and your way of adharma
can but end in dusty death. 262

I see with dismay portents of evil :
clouds rumble menacingly,

beasts and birds of prey howl and screech and scream,

women see morbid spectres; 263

the wildest abominations occur,
and Death and Doom are abroad,

0 Ravana, make haste, return Sita

and reach concord with Rama.’ 264

But Ravana scoffs at reason, prudence,
fairness and seasoned counsel
when they go against his desire-self's pulls
or governing obsessions. 265

Those that don't blindly follow him, he feels,
must be counted enemies;
and in his extreme egoism he will

rathei bieak in two than bend. 266

And so he glared at sad Malayavan.

fumed against the peace-mongers
and dcchned that nothing would induce him
to surrender Maithili.

He also gave orders for deploying
his armies and their Cieneials
at the foiii gales of Lanka, and even
the impregnable Centre:

Prahasta lor the Last, Mahapars\a
for the South, Virupaksha
UV the ('enl.e, Indiajit to. the Wesi
and Ravana to.' the North.

But Sita, take heart, for the other side
is valiant and alert .

Vibhishana's four' have reconnoiteied
and made report to Rama.

1 have links with my father's ministers
who come and go as they like

disguised diversely for mobility
or invisibility.

267

268

269

2^0

271

390 Sitayami

Told of the strategic distribution
of Ravana’s regiments,

Raghava has ordered point-counterpoint
mighty matching assignments:

272

Nila against Prahasta m the East;

Angada at the Southern,
and Hanuman, the Western gate; Rama
and Saumitri, the Northern ;

2''3

Sugriva, Vibhishana, Jambavan,
the three doughty warriors,
would reinforce the rest from a central
and commanding position.

274

Oh Sita, there's more to tell, for marvels
never seem to cease, even
in this world of violent Rakshasas
and volatile Vanaras.

275

From the heights of the Suvala mountain
where all had congregated,
my father was pointing with his finger
at the landmarks of Lanka.

276

It was quite an exhilarating sight,
and when their gaze fell al last
on regal Ravana on a tower
surveying all before him.

277

looming large and louring like a dark cloud,
that bejewelled and evil
figure resplendent with strong sandal paste
stung Sugriva to fury.

278

and he flew with lightning speed to Lanka
and dared the dazed Ravana,
and the impetuous antagonists
tried to worst one another.

•

279

Then, being equally matched, Sugriva
drew even with Ravana
and arrow-like Parted back to Rama,
and made obeisance to him.

280

Feeling relieved Raghava applauded
the Vanara King's valour,
but warned him also against similar
erratic indiscretions.

281

391 The War Begins

Now Raghava viewed with satisfaction
the army dispositions
and sent Angada on a last-minute

mission of peace to Lanka. 282

With alacrity Prince Angada sped
like the God of Fire himself,
and confronting the King with defiance

delivered Rama’s message: 283

'O Ravana caged in the illusion
of invincibility;

repent, surrender Maithili, and live

or else prepare to perish.' 284

But Ravana’s impulsive directive
that the envoy should be killed
provoked the Prince to pull down the Palace
Crest, and flv buck to Rama. 285

And Sita, that's the orn.nous posture
of affairs at the moment,
and the issue will soon be joined between

Rama and the Rak lia i.” 286

There was a brief spell of solemn silence
that held the infinities,
and Sita heaved an agonising sigh

of trembling incertitude. 287

Registering the anguish and heart-ache
that seemed to rock Maithili,

Trijata came out with the soothing words

surging from her psychic depths: 288

“Sita, there’s no need for apprehension
,of any kind: the air speaks
fair to my soul’s profounder listening,

and the dark but hides the dawn. 289

•

Rival omens with contradicU.ry
intimations fill the air:
here in Lanka, prospective tragedy

but for Rama, life and joy. 290

I've seen the veterans seized with sudden
terror as they view the vast
Vanara battalions fill all the space
between Lanka and the sea.

291

392 Sitayana

I’ve heard some bemoan the imminent fate
of the Lanka they had loved,
and others in desperation prepare
for the fated holocaust. 292

I know well enough the tyrannous strength
of Lanka’s Asuric might,
the result of o’erweening ambition
and determined askesis. 293

But unless when auspiciously endowed
(as my Father seems to be),
the Rakshasa’s vicious mole of nature
renders him morally blind. 294

And that is how, for all the rake’s progress
the Rakshasa registers,
the terminal total is mere defeat,
a crumbling of the Tower 295

We’ll now leave you, Sita, and lose ourselves
in our separate circuits
and preoccupations, but all the time
keep open our eyes and ears. 296

You may be sure that we two, and mother
Sarama also, will act
in concert to advance your holy cause
in all practicable ways.” .

297

Canto ^8: Alternating Fortunes

The sisters left, and Sita was once more
wrapped up in her silences
that gathered all Space and Time dimensions
into the reigning moment. 298

Living and dying and reborn once more,
tossed between the termini
of the Raghava and Ravana worlds,

Sita transcended her plight. 299

She was as one safely insulated
from the enmities raging
around Lanka’s four impregnable gates
and the Rakshasa strongholds. 300

For Sita, it was as though Time stood still,
a becalmed sea of silence
and nothingness, yet now and then varied
by ripples of disturbance. 301

What was that ear-splitting detonation?

The Rakshasa deploying
his powered trident? or the Vanara
uprooting a hill or tree? 302

The distant tremors of the engagement
invaded her consciousness
like a harrowing nightmare in progress;
and Sita shuddered at times. 303

Her waking eyes saw not the rhythmic beats
of the developing strife,
yiJt she didn’t miss the language of tne heart,
nor Nature’s intimations. 304

Deep in her being she .sensed the heart-aches
of the unfolding conflict,
the groans of defeat, the screams of triumph,
the dark and the shrouded Dawn ! 305

Her sensibility thus suspended
between faith and hopelessness,
each second seemed unending, but the day
sped like Rama’s own arrow.

306

394 Sitayana

The sinister Rakshasi wardresses
scurried at a safe distance,
and whatever the news from the war-front
they remained sphinx-like, silent.

Tliere was an intrusive stir in the air
like a giant bird’s winging
towards the earth, and as Sita looked up
she saw Pushpaka descend.

Now as she sat humped in self-awareness
and stanced as if for prayer,

Trijata stepped down from the big air-car
with an inscrutable look

The prophetess lost no time to transmit
a speechless urgent message
signifying that mere appearances
could mislead the unwary.

Then she persuaded Maithili to fly
with her to the battlefield,
where they saw stretched on the ground the lifeless
Raghava and Lakshmana.

Sita felt a chill o’erpower her heart,
and while she turned in despair
to Trijata, one of the ogresses
yelled: “See, see, Rama i^ dead’"

Another crowed: “Sita, see for yourself,
the Vanaras are done tor,
gallant Indrajit has achieved wonders,
and killed the Royal Brothers.

The soul-searing spectacle of Rama
and Saumitri on their bed
of inert arrows and broken armours
half unhinged Maithili's mind

“Is this gross indecent whimper the end?"

she bewailed; “Didn’t soothsayers
predict auspicic'usness as my birthmark?
why, then, this deprivation?

They said that the lotus-marks on my feet
proclaimed me regal consort
of a reigning Prince, that my whole being
repelled the inauspicious.

395 Alternating Fortunes

Even now, dazed and maddened as I am,

I feel foreign to foulness, •
my heart’s immaculate Fire seems to scare
all unblessedness away.

The wise of Mithila and Ayodhya
saw in me the exemplum
of all things fair, holy and auspicious,
the Pure Bride of Wedded Love.

Yet there I see Rama’s recumbent form
and of dear Urmila’s Lord,

Saumitri, adepts in the art of war
and fighters unparalleled.

What marvels they did at Janasthana,
how uncanny their release
of the potent Agni, Indra, Vayu
and Brahma mantric missiles?

Where was the foe brave enough to confront
my wondrous archer Rama,
and now alas ! he lies low on the field :
how can Kausalya be^^r this?'’

Moved by Maithili’s heart-rending lament,
Trijata cast an intent
look at the inert forms, and springing up
with a new light in her eyes,

she held Sita in a protective clasp
and spoke soothing healing words:

‘‘Fear not, O incarnate auspiciousness!

Rama and Lakshmana live:

It’s some transient swoon of the senses
that has o’ertaken Rama
anS Saumitri; their angelic faces
yet retain their native hue,

the Vanara army remains deployed
in all its orderliness,
and nor panic nor incertitude mars
the deportment of the troops.

And remember this too, O Vaidehi :
this heavenly Pushpaka

could not have conveyed you here were it not
that you remained unwidowed.

396 Sitayana

I can see in your exemplary form
all the distinguishing marks
of bridal blessedness, the perfectly
fashioned ensemble of limbs:

black tresses long and lustrous, fair eyebrows
that don’t meet, well-matched fingers,
breasts pressed close together, strength in softness
and a golden complexion.

Fear not, Vaidehi: your Lord is alive,
and Saumitri is alive;
after this necessary swoon, they’ll rise
once more like the morning Sun.”

The greatly relieved Maithili replied,
her hands joined in thankfulness:

‘Trijata, may your words come true indeed.”

And they flew back to the Grove.

Returning to the Simsupa’s shelter,

Sita’s silent questioning
forced a tentative explanation from
the still confused Trijata:

‘ 'Sometimes, Sita, we should let the heart speak
and silence the active mind
with its chilling dialectics of doubt
and smothering of the soul.

Past midnight, the King peremptorily
called me and ordered I should
fly you to the battlefield and show you
the exposed Rama’s body.

There was a catch somewhere, I thought, and from
my psychic centre I had
reassurance of Rama’s well-being,
and 1 came post-haste to you.

For all his vaunted might, the Rakshasa
will not refrain from lying,
deceit and so eery to gain his ends,
and he scofls at Truth and Grace.

I’ve no doubt, Sita — believe me, my heart
cannot he! — this Indrajit,
skilled in sorcery, ha. done some mischief
which will disappear like mist.

397 Alternating Fortunes

For the nonce let’s hold ourselves in patience,
and prayer, and passiveness:

I expect, mother Sarama knoVs all
and will send Anala soon.” 337

And some hours hence when ’twas clear day once more,

Anala came with her load
of auspicious news, dispelling the clouds

that weighed down on Maithili. 338

“Holy Sita, all is well with Rama,”
said Anala ; “all is well
with Lakshmana, and all’s prospering well
with the Vanara army.’’ 339

Having at once set Sita’s mind at ease,
the messenger continued :

“Angada’s mission of peace having failed,

Rama had to opt for war. 340

While all the «pacc between Lanka’s ramparts
and the epcompassin^; sea
was a heaving mass of the Vanara
forces itching for a fight, 341

Rama as he viewed the besieged Lanka
with its gloried opulence
thought of the woes of the fawn-eyed Sita,
and ’twas a spur to action. 342

Forthwith he ordered a total assault
on the four-gated Lanka
with its doughty Rakshasa defenders,

and the Vanaras obeyed. 343

Tree-trunks and hill-crests were the armamehl,
their doubled fists the trigger,
gates, moats, ramparts, turrets were the targets,

and 'Rama!’ the battle-cry. 344

And spearheading the opening attack,

Sugriva, Vibhishana,

Sushena, Lakshmana, Rama himself

. unleashed a spate of terror. 34"^

Provoked by the cumulative impact
of the Vanara onslaught,

Ravana in an access of fury
decreed swift counter-attacks.

346

398 Sitayana

While the rival forces clashed with fury
in sanguinary battle,
sundry stalwarts engaged in single fights
and sought high renown or death

Angada fought Indrajit, Mainda killed
with his fist Vajramushti,

Sugriva slew Praghasa with a tree,

Rama attacked four at once.

Night came, but brought no respite to any,
Vanara and Rakshasa
mistook friends for foes, hit out at shadows
and rampaged in all quarters.

Amid all that confusion and tumult,

Rama and Lakshmana made
unerring hits with an uncanny aim
and laid low the Rakshasas.

While Rama’s devastating attacks caused
blood to flow in gushing streams
and the corpses of the fallen fighteis
all lay scattered on the field,

Angada struck boldly at Indrajit,
destroyed his mount and drove him
to flee from the scene, albeit determined
on definitive revenge.

Both Sugriva and Vibhishama praised
Vali’s son for his rare feat,
but Rama sensed sinister sequences
and cautioned the Vanaras.

And bearing out Rama’s fears as it were.

Indrajit returned and rained
from an invisible vantage station
a shower of sharp arrows.

Albeit invincible in open war,
the Brothers felt paralysed
by Indrajit’s gimmicks that caused panic
among the I'^anara hosts.

And presently Indrajit with sure aim
and diabolic intent

aimed the fell serpent-darts at the Princes
and struck them down unconscious.

399 Alternating Fortunes

Sudden demoralisation now swept
across the Vanara lines,
and many felt sore and disspiyted,
and concluded all was lost.

But buoyed up by his success, Indrajit
rushed to his worried Father
and reported the enemy’s collapse
and the death of the Brothers.

It was then, Sita, the King commanded
Trijata to make you see
the sad spectacle of defeat and death
on the Lanka battlefield.

In his elation, Ravana decreed
rejoicings in the City,
and there were flags and illuminations
and noisy celebrations.

Meanwhile there was dole on the other side
till Vibhishana told ihem
it was but the slumber oj consciousness
imposed by Indrajit’s spell.

The first to wake up fr^an ^he daze, Rama
grew aware ot Lakshmana
and the plight of the Vanara army
and spoke in defeatist terms.

Sushena suggested that Hanuman
should bring certain wondrous herbs
from afai for healing the wounds at once
and restoring health to all.

Just then the golden eagle, Garuda,
appeared as if from nowhere,
and the serpent-darts lost their potency,
and robust life smiled again.

Garuda the eternal enemy
oT the whole tribe of serpents
had thus, in no more than a split-second,
transformed the Vanara scene.

When Garuda withdrew after paying
due obeisance to Rama,
the Vanaras gave vent to their great joy
and were ready for action.

400 Sitayana

With the beating of drum and the blowing
of conches, the Vanaras
showed their renewed appetite for battle,
and made a terrific din. 367

And as the lusty Vanara war-cries
resounded in Ravana’s
Lanka, a cold fear seized the Rakshasas,

and they prepared for the worst. 368

After his brief elation, Ravana
was in the doldrums again,
for his spies told him of an offensive
being mounted against him. 369

Resisting the gloom that invaded him,

Ravana issued the call
that the divers gates should be defended
from the Vanara onslaughts 370

And Dhumraksha is assigned to the west,
and war-worthy Rakshasas,
unmindful of the meanacing omens,
are pouring out of Lanka. 371

Well, Sita, this in brief is my story,
and 1 know the road is long,

Indrajit may try more of his magic,
but Truth will prevail at last.” 372

Sita heard and said simply: “Anala,
this waiting is horrible ;
but since impatience is the worst of sins,
let me hold on to my faith.” 373

Left alone once more to herself, Sita
became an easy victim
to excruciating sharp needless of thought
and suffered cancerous pain. 974

All war meant the mutual infliction
of intolerable hurt,

and participants but killed or got killed,
and wounded or received wounds. 375

Rakshasa, Vanara or the human
race . male or female elders
or youngsters: the injured or the guilty:
all are life-inheritois

376

40 1 A Iternating Fortunes

And yet this passion, this spite, this hatred,
and the million million deaths :
her woman’s heart of compassion rebelled
against the ethos of war.

She then remembered the fake Sannyasin,
the reckless cheat Ravana,
his vanities and vainglories of State,
his mean resort to magic :

diverse dialectics tantalised her:

good and evil; truth, falsehood;
sreyas,'preyas\ compassion, cruelty,
and Sita felt bewildered.

Late in the evening Trijata returned
to give more news to Sita ;
her face weighted with anxiety, she spoke
in a pained but steady voice:

‘'No end, Sita, to these vicissitudes,
to the pitil6ss see-saw
between peace and war; and Ravana must
needs prolong the holocaust!

After Hanuman had killed Dhumraksha,
it was Vajradhamshtra’s turn
to face Angada at the southern gate
and invite Hell on himself.

The unwieldy Rakshasa bit the dust
spreading panic in his ranks,
but Angada shone mid the Vanaras
as a puissant conqueror.

Ravana, now resigned to reverses,
sent the brave Akampana
to fill the breach, but nothing could save him,
and Hanuman brought him down.

Ravana grew more than ever conceined,
inspected the defences
and held counsel with gallant Prahasta
’ the Generalissimo.

‘Returning Sita, we could have won peace,’
he reminded; ‘now it’s war,
and I’m ready to fight and cast my life
as oblation in the Fire.’

402 Sitayana

Carrying the grim panoply of doom,

Prahasla and his stalwarts —

Mahanada and several others —
stonned out of the eastern gate, 387

and undeterred by the tell-tale omens,
the vulture on the flagstaff,
the lustreless planets, the rain of fire,
they challenged the enemy. 388

Clashing with his Vanara opposite,

Commander-in-chief Nila,

Prahasta fell caught in a fierce grapple,
and fell down lifeless at last. 389

Stung to fury, Ravana now resolved
he would himself lead the charge,
and as he rode out of the northern gate

he blazed like the brilliant Sun. 390

From afar, Vibhishana pointed out
the advancing Ravana
to Rama and the Vanara heroes;
and all were struck with wonder. 391

Such power and presence, and beyond doubt
a regal fighter; also
a sinner extraordinary, waiting

for Rama’s avenging stroke’ 392

The sight infuriated Sugriva
who began the offensive,
and Nila, Hanuman and Lakshmana
and Rama too — joined the fray. 393

Ravana was a veteran indeed
and knew all the arts of war,

and worsted Sugriva, dazed Hanuman, •

and cast down Nila himself. 394

During the bitter engagement between
Ravana and Lakshmana,
arrows cross ^4 and neutralised each other,
and more shafts, and the same fate ’ 395

Even the Brahma-dart, which Ravana
released in desperation,
but spurred Saumibi to counter-attack;
and with his great bow broken.

396

403 Alternating Fortunes

the Rakshasa King clasped his javelin
and hurled it at Saumitri-;
as it struck him, he reeled uncertainly
and was about to collapse.

397

But before he could be seized as a prize
of war, Hanuman felled down

Ravana with a fierce blow and conveyed

Saumitri to Rama’s side.

398

Soon getting over his discomfiture,

Ravana began shooting
arrows at the Vanara formations,
and threw them into a fright.

399

Hanuman now offered his broad shoulders
as chariot for Rama
to fight Ravana on more equal terms
with sustained power of arms.

400

The issue was thus joined at last between
the great human warrior
and the feared Rakshasa King, and the clash
that followed shook 'he whole earth.

401

The vanquisher of India and the gods
found Rama invincible,
and lost his bow and diadem, horses,
chariot - even his pride.

402

It was easy for Rama to kill him,
but he offered a reprieve .

‘Go back Ravana, you're tired; and leturn
to fight on a later day.’

403

The gift of his life he owed to Rama's
chivalry and charity,
ahd this irked Ravana, for he knew how
his foes would mock at him now;

404

and most galling was the thought that Sita
with her lance-like look would now
have her witheiing laugh at the fallen

Ravana the vain boaster'”

405

Canto 49 : Mandodari and Sulochana

Weighed down by an oppressive sense of shame,
the Rakshasa King returned
to his palace, shed his royal trappings
and made for the gynaeceum.

He walked with slow unsteady steps, his eyes
had a dull and vacant look,
and he found the great Hall of Carousal
lack-lustre and tenantless.

Presently Mandodari, with her own
burden of anguish and fear
o’ertook, and gave her Lord a helping hand,
and guided him to his bed.

Words failing, the silence was speech enough,
and when the battle-weary
warrior laid down his exhausted limbs,
the Queen broke down utterly;

“Alas my Lord, all colour has left you,
you are sprawled like one inert,

I see defeat and shame struggling in vain
to keep back dreaded despair.

O my hero of a thousand campaigns,
cast aside this dejection ;
bestir yourself, my Lord, and think again,
and act boldly and rightly.”

After an uneasy unearthly pause
Ravana let out a groan
of unimaginable misery
and struggled to say these words;

“It’s a dark day, Mandodari my Queen,
for this Rama cracked my crown
and worsted n " in battle in full view
of the contending armies.

And woe is me, my proud Mandodari !

there, but for his generous
gesture, I should be lying on the field,
no more than food for vultures.

405 Mandodari and Sulochana

I live, and I hate this life in disgrace:

I cannot repent or change :

I’m like one bound by adanlantine chains
of tragic fatality.”

Mandodari felt the terrible words
sink into the unplumbed depths
of her soul in turmoil, and she ventured
to speak again to her Lord :

“It may be like prodding a painful wound,
but I must speak as becomes
great Lanka’s Queen, brave Indrajit’s mother,
as also Maya’s daughter.

Need I remind you, my Lord, ever since
you seized and brought Sita here,
a spate of bad omens and misfortunes
has inundated this land.

Not only has al c firmly spurned your love,
but her Jiery purity,

her glow of Grace, has also undermined
Lanka’s deeper harmony.

And Hanuman, a nicre monkey in form,
could break through our defences,
decimate our prized armies, cry havoc
and set fire to the city.

Didn’t you feel then, my Lord, ’twas no monkey
at all but the Almighty

come in that form to avenge ancient wrongs —
a million Hanumans now !

And in the Council Hall ten days ago,
the upright Kumbhakarna
^nd frank Vibhishana alike advised
the surrender of Sita.

k have seen her too, and I see hei still
sometimes in dreams o nightmares ;
veiled as she is in sadness, she carries
a Fire in her anguished heart.

’Twas not the gigantic monkey, my Lord,
that set our Lanka ablaze ;
he was but the conduit for Sita’s fire
10 erupt o’er the city.

406 Sitayana

Enough, O Lord, the blood that has been shed
on the battlefield, the tears
that flow like rivers from Rakshasa homes,
and the sighs that rise sky-high.

One after another the dreaded news
of the death of the heroes
invades the car, and the heart is deadened,
and a graveyard silence reigns

The gallant Jambumali fell a prey
to Hanuman; Prahasta
his father, a whole army by himself,
has now fallen on the field.

When Akampana and Vajradhamshtra
and a host of others fell,
you marched to the front today supported
by some of the mightiest.

Indrajit’s sorcery has been in vain,
and I shudder at the thought
that, like Aksha before, all our Princes
may come to a grievous end.

Atikaya, Devantaka, Kumbha,

Nikumbha, Narantaka,

Trisiras, and great Indrajit himself,
and other resounding names:

0 my Lord, must they all, all the seedlings
of Lanka’s future, and all,

all the elders, all the generations,
find their way to cheerless death?

1 beseech you, husband, warrior. King’
in the name of the women

and children and aged ones of Lanka,
launch a peace offensive now.

I can but see a daughter in Sita,
and a veiled descended God
in Rama her Lord ; and it’s not too late,

O King, to m^ke peace with him.”

She had spoken with intentness but soaked
with tears: and although shaken
by sobs, had managed to communicate
her prophetic intuitions.

407 Mandodari and Sulochana

The speech, so charged with terror and pity,
despair and hope, made a deni
in Ravana's daze of disgrace ?ind dread,
and he found some words at last ;

435

'Mt may be as you say, Mandodari,
but 1 feel entrapped and held
by some malevolent fatality —
and there’s no escape for me.

436

Easy for you to say, ‘Return Sita,
make friends with Rama’’ - I wish

1 could indeed rewrite my history
and .everse my yesterdays.

437

Ah 1 had everything, Mandodari,
and now I’ve lost everything;

Sita is my fate, Sita my frenzy,

Sita my blessing, my doom’”

438

As if exhausted ;.y his exertion,

Ravana suddenly cea^ ?d,
and a deep sleep seemed to o’erpower him,
and the wife watched, and waited.

439

She too felt the powc. ol the moment,
for her imperious Lord
lay so peaceful, and like a wayward child
seemed cradled in restful sleep.

440

The minutes passed, the communion acquired
an identity too deep
for comprehension, and the vibrations
fanned out to far horizons.

441

Time almost visibly flowed like a flood,
and in Mandodari’s eyes
the shore and the recumbent Ravana
torged a grim identity.

442

He.lay neutral, impassive, enonnous,
and the strange co-existe '•cc
of seeming sleep and submeiged commotion
. cast almost a spell on her.

44^

Then, as she went on gazing at her Lord —
the Scourge of the Worlds, now' stilled
by the opiate sleep! — Maya’s daughter
felt a mother more than wife.

444

408 Sitayana

Racing beyond the intervening years,
she saw the dear familiar
contours change into summer and s-pringtime,
and ’twas Meghanad again. 445

She drew a deep breath and sighed, for the boy,
once that angel-innocence,
had since waxed in his own father’s image,
and grown a terror in turn ; 446

and like his Sire again, had resented
the sage Vibhishana’s word
of warning and counsel, thus condemning

Lanka to her hour of doom. 447

In her corrosive anguish of spirit,

Mandodari asked herself
what indeed was at the cosmic centre
that winked at such distortions. 448

As she looked again, and marked the subtle
variations in breathing
and repose, she could infer the stages

of the soul’s journey within. 449

But suddenly his slumber seemed disturbed,
his face was twisted with fear,
his limbs shuffled, his body heaved and shook,
and he moaned in deep unease. 450

She saw her dream collapsing, and she placed
her palm on his fevered head,
and hoped, as so often before, her touch
would have a healing effect. 45 1

As her hand moved gently o’er his body
steadying his rebel nerves,
the response was almost immediate
and the insurrection ceased. 452

The words ‘Peace, Peace, my Lord^’ surged from the depths, ,
and she watched with great relief
the disappearance of the spots and knots
that had disfigured his face. 453

There lay Ravana, all peaceful once more,
like a sea becalmed, serene,
following a harsh spell of commotion
caused by a bay depression.

454

409 Mandodari and Sulochana

What dream or nightmare had thrown out of gear
her Lord’s equanimity,
the earlier poise of sleep, and unleashed
the kennelled hounds of terror?

She had heard it maintained by those that know
that there’s the cave of the heart
where the Illimitable holds His court
as the Lord of the Castle.

She wondered whether, in that Hour of God,
a battle was being fought
between the past and the future, her Lord
cau^t in the hub of it all.

The minutes crawled like a termite army,
and the tense and distraught Queen,
even as she watched in her deep silence
of faith, inly prayed for peace.

And presently sli * felt a pull towards
some irresistible poin'
of convergence, the soul’s sanctuary —
and she heard soft steps behind.

Shaken from that unique moment of trance,
she turned back and was intrigued
but delighted to see Sulochana,
brave Indrajit’s espoused saint.

Beautiful and behovely as she was,
she exuded a subdued
luminiscence of power befitting
her Naga antecedents.

But a vague cloud was darkening her face,
she seemed visibly disturbed,
and dispensing with speech, she raised her eyes
*and let their eloquence speak.

The elder, deeply concerned, knew something
had somehow gone awry, and
holding the trembling Sulochana close,

. she let the tension relax.

For a brief interim neither could speak,
but the place, time, occasion
sharply heightened their native perceptions,
and they seemed to throb alike.

410 Sitayana

They stole an anxious glance at Ravana,
now a reserve of power
and poise in the sovereignty of deep 'sleep,
and Mandodari whispered:

“I don’t know, Sulochana, what’s in store
for His Royal Majesty
and gallant Meghanad and fair Lanka,
and for everyone of us!

More and more, my dear, the premonition
of the end of things haunts me,
for the wronged Sita in Asoka looms
as our sole predestined scourge.

The King is obstinate, the Ministers
speak falsehood, fawn or flatter ;
our Rakshasa might and Indrajit’s darts
can neither bite nor deter.

Alas Sulochana, my mind misgives.

I’m gnawed by a sense of guilt
and 1 despair of making Ravana
or Meghanad see reason.

Look there, the King lies peaceful in his sleep;

yet a little while ago
all hell visited his dream-underworld
presaging coming events.

O Sulochana, in my nightmare life
1 hear the ominous tread
of irresistible Doom, and a dull
ding-dong hammers in my ear.”

Her voice rose despite her self-possession,
and she deemed it wise to lead
the Princess to the far end of the Hall
lest the sleeper be disturbed.

Seated, yet still casting anxious glances
on slumbering Ravana
every few seconds, the two royal dames
exchanged their grim forebodings.

Sulochana, flame-like in purity
and beauty, and now driven
by a grim feeling of fatality,
decided to have her say :

41 1 Mandodari and Sulochana

“Ah noble Mother, can you do nothing,
nothing at all, to avert
the coming disaster? You’ve seen Sita,
and I have heard about her.

475

More than once, the clairvoyant Trijata
has lisped in accents of love
and adoration of the wronged Sita,
the sole cause of this conflict.

476

Vain was Uncle Vibhishana’s warning,
and although Kumbhakarna
and even my dear Lord are ill at ease,
they’ll not turn against the King.

477

O mother of Indrajit and mother
of all Lanka’s citizens,
where’s the sense in sainted Sita's travail,
and all this carnage of war?”

478

Crucial question' ibcse. in which stark despair
clashed with residual h(*pc,
and her culminating cry of distress
fiercely pounded on the heart

479

A pause, and Mandodari gave a groan
of desperation, and said:

“Where unreason and passion sit enthroned,
all good sense goes a-hiding.

480

The insanities of lust and power
have their own queer compulsions;
and what are we, the females of the race,
but expendable trinkets?

481

Some weeks ago, the obsessed Ravana

took his younger wives and me

when he visited Asoka Vana

1

to win over Maithili.

482

That was the first time I saw her, and how
can I describe that riddle?

She was sitting under the Simsupa
and seemed vestured by the Dawn.

483

She wore no jewels, simple her bearing,
sad and serene her presence :
with but a piece of Kusa grass between
she defied the Titan’s strength!

484

412 Sitayana

0 Sulochana, I was then knocked down
by an apocalyptic

vision : the prisoner was Ravana, *
and the justiciar, Sita ! 485

All his pomp and power and rhetoric,
all his inducements and threats,
fell flat, and Sita spoke fair and fearless
the scriptures of her Dharma. 486

Stung to the quick, Ravana raised his hand
as if he would strike Sita,
but 1 pushed Dhanyamalini to save
the situation in time. 487

1 know, Sulochana, with Sita’s fire
unextinguished, we’re sitting

on a volcano, and all we can do
is to pray and hope and wait.” 488

For Sulochana, this mournful music
was but tacit acceptance ;
and she thought, befitting her greener years,
of a dynamic of peace. 489

“You know. Mother,” she said with excitement,

“I had a view of the war
yesterday, for I was on the terrace,
and oh! ! saw everything. 490

Like one invincible, Ravana rode
at the head of our forces,
and he was environed by Indrajit
and the cream of our army. 491

Ranged against them, I saw Vibhishana,

Hanuman, and so many

hefty Vanaras; and I saw. Mother, ^

Rama and Lakshmana too. 492

So these were the dangerous Men ! My heart
went out in allegiance
in defiance of all dictated norms :
were they not our enemies? 493

But what could I do. Mother, for the heart
has its reasons, and my heart
would only speak the language of God-love
and filial piety as well.

494

41 3 Mandodari and Sulochana

The clash of arms and personalities
jolted and jarred upon my .
inferred sympathies, and oh ’twas painful,
’twas erupting inferno.

And Lakshmana dared great Ravana’s might,
and was hurt, and Hanuman
spirited him away ; then Lanka’s King
and Rama met face to face.

Arresting and terrible was the scene,

Lanka from his chariot
fighting R.ama mounted on Maruti,—
a spectacle for the gods!

The fight was unequal in appearance,
for the hermit-like Rama
faced Ravana in his regal splendour
shining with his golden crown.

But sundry invisible potencies,
incantatory missiles,
supernaturally charged killer-darts
were being brought into play.

And the incredible was happening,
for Ravana’s horses fell,
his chariot broke, his crown fell down, and
he reeled under Rama’s shaft.

But he let the crest-fallen King retire,
and why? Rama thought perhaps
that a night’s calm reflection might effect
a change, and war end in peace.

All’s not lost. Mother, for as 1 saw then,
the pair of noble Brothers
are governed by Dharma’s imperatives,
and not by thoughts of revenge.

Just one little gesture, a key-action,
the return of Maithili
with no further ado, - and the prospect
must change from Darkness to Light.”

Canto 50; Havana’s Dream

Sulochana’s melting plea, for a fair
deal to Maithili and peace
in Lanka, trembled in the atmosphere,
and hope flickered, and Time passed.

But before Mandodari could reply,
there was a stir, the sleeper
gathered himself suddenly, and sat up
with his red eyes wide open.

The startled Queen made a rush to her Lord,
and Sulochana followed :
he quickly grasped the fact of their presence,
gestured them to sit, and spoke:

“The battle, and the disgrace' It all comes
back to me, Mandodari ;
but let me speak of my nightmare, rounded
by another kind of dream.

As 1 grew aware that my consciousness
was growing dimmer, losing
focus and chrity both, all at once
I was cast in oblivion :

perhaps in slumber’s never-never land,

I was as often before
sold over to high fantasy, a leaf
dancing wildly in the storm.

It was a bitter-sweet experience
madly kaleidoscopic,
but I cannot recall what ’twas about —
stuff like bubbles are mide of

But midway I was stung to attention,
for it became, you might say,
a prolong ition of the battle-scene
and a new phase of my shame.

I thought all the three worlds were looking on,
laughing, jeering, exulting;
and while the Va ' i-is capered with glee,
my Rakshasas were depressed.

4 1 5 Ravana ’s Dream

And soon ’Iwas worse than worst, Mandodari,
for I had lost my horses
and chariot, crown and shining armour,
and stood there nude before all.

All my store of maces, spears, thunderbolts,
all my arrows, pounders, discs,
all the charged shafts (the gains of askesis),
all had failed me in my need.

And worse; 1 seemed to diminish in size,
my native granite-like pride
suffered erosion, and when Rama said
'Go!' I had no prick of shame.

Avoiding all prying eyes as I thought,

I went by devious ways
and lost myself in the woods near Lanka
and wished I could cease to be.

The t^'ees were like ghosts, a death-like silence
held sovereignty o'er the leaves,

1 seemed to have reached Death's nether kingdom,
and no bird’s cry ^"ould I hear.

Now bereft of ali strength, my legs slumped down
and 1 thought invisble
beings assailed me like a multitude
of snakes, wasps and scorpions.

1 would have cried in elemental pain,
but somebody from behind
held my head in a friendly grip and closed
my lips and my blood-shot eyes

1 knew then that the Abyss loomed ahead,
and yet, incontinently,
n?y inner senses leapt into action
in that w oild of the shadows.

F6r now I saw with a J^rim clarity
a processionary march
of fathers, husbands, brothers whose dearest
1 had outraged in the past.

And Kings and commoners too, and Rishis
and Devas and Gandharvas,
cast annihilating looks on my shame
as they stalked past silently.

416 Sitayana

The memoried guilt shot up like lava
and made a splash on my face,
and I see-sawed and struggled on my bed
and wished I could get away.

But a ready healing hand descended
and chased the fear away ; and
the phantoms fled, the fever subsided,
and 1 lost all consciousness.

I don’t know how long was this spell of sleep
but when awareness revived,
a desert of hate and a self-absorbed
lone figure were all 1 saw.

In that dreary immensity of white,
that monotonous paleness,
even the dim figure at the centre
offered residual relief.

As I scanned the ambiguous figure
I wondered who it might be:
male or female? Asuric or Divine?
a mockery or a hope?

I went on gazing, blinking helplessly
at that haunting paleface, aye
that sheer solitary sufficiency —
my doom or my saviour Grace?

Now I had a stab of recognition,
a clarity of knowing ;
ah the injured one, the long-suffering ’

I was stung to wakefulness!”

He stopped as if arrested in his speech,
and awaiting the response ;
and Mandodari, restraining her fears,
spoke to assuaging effect :

“It will not do, my Lord, to surrender
to painful introspection ;
for sometiffli now, Tve been keeping a watch
along with Sulochana.

The past is verily beyond recall,
and to dwell among the dead
is no more than poisoning the present
and abjuring the future.

417 Ravana *s Dream

Forget, my Lord, what’s irretrievable ;

as for the present peril,
a decisive expiatory act

can redeem all future time. 533

Having disarmed you in fair fight, Rama
would have you give thought again ;
doubtless he feels the war can be ended
and peace return to Lanka. 534

The accusing phantoms in your nightmare
may be mental projections
or pricks of conscience; but return Sita,

mat’s the nectarean way.” 535

In boiling anxiety, Sulochana
seized her chance and intervened :

“I would on bended knee appeal to you,

O Father of the People: 536

think of FMr.ijlt, Atikaya, and
of Lanka’^sons so many:
think of Mandodari, and mothers all,
and daughters, and the children! 537

It’s proper, O KiiJg and benefactor,
that the chaste, fair and holy
Sita, as holy as she’s heroic,

is returned with due honour. 538

Though I haven’t seen her, I feel attracted
as to a sister ; and for
Mandodari, what’s captive Sita but
a daughter in affliction? 539

I feel, O great King, that the lone figure
you saw in your dry desert
wai^Sita herself, the sure Avenger —

or the certain Redeemer. 540

O be not misled by appearances :

she’s not like other w; men,
for the Infinite seems to ring her round,
and her heart must melt with ruth. 541

And O King and Father, pray do not hug
the self-deceiving notion
that Rama and Lakshmana are mere men
driving a pack of monkeys.

542

418 Sitayana

In the marrow of my bones 1 feel it.

0 mighty King of Lanka :

now is the time to act boldly, undo
the past, and win the future.*

Feeling flabbergasted by her courage,
the frightened Mandodari
exchanged looks with Sulochana before
relapsing into silence.

By now Ravana was fully awake,
and while the two were speaking
the inner lucidity of his mind
had registered their meaning.

He wasn't surprised, and he wasn’t angry, but
a cold desperation, a
pall of predestination, lay upon
his soul and paralysed him.

Awhile he seemed to struggle with himself ;

then, having made up his mind,
he squarely faced the two royal ladies,
met their eyes, and spoke his mind:

"Mandodari, my exemplary Queen:

Sulochana, most admired
of my daughters: you’ve spoken as becomes
your hoary antecedents.

We’re clearly caught in an hour of crisis
in great Lanka’s history,
and in my sober moments 1 can see
the load of fatality.

Both of you seem to think, as others do —
yes, and Meghanad himself —
that by returning Sita to Rama

1 can annul all the past.

It’s not so simple or isolable,
for o’er a long span of life
my flawed acts had their compulsions, and their
cumulaiion wears me down.

Everything good or bad must initiate
Its own chain- reaction, and
one becomes a [>athetic prisoner
in a self-made iiiierno.

4 1 9 Ravana *s Dream

The wages of lust, the lure of power,
and the gluttony of greed :
three sins that are one infeitious disease,
their reckoning comes some day.

I’ve lived, O my Queen, a kinetic life,
a spendthrift profligacy
of instant indulgence in appetites,
and this has sickened my soul.

I’ll not weary you with my long budget
of wanton misdemeanours,
but I must needs recall a few at least
pointed to the occasion.

You’ve doubtless heard of chaste Vedavali,
and of Apsaras Rambha,
and, again, of pure Punjikasthali —
these and others and others!

How c:;.i \ vvade the old equation,
the wag^js of s n is death?

And, besides, there were the desecrations,
thoughtless abominations.

I was worse tl. cruel when I tortured
one of Rama’s ancestors,

Anaranya, to death — and how can I
escape his terrible curse?

In my blindness and egoistic pride,

I annoyed Goddess Uma
and Nandiswara ; their imprecations
must now attain fulfilment.

No, no, Mandodari, Sulochana:

1 see you’re the sufferers,
iyid the future of the Rakshasa race
and of Lanka is at stake.

I -know Sita has spurned me, and I know
my obsession is me iness ;
but there’s no short-cut to security,
no evading of my fate.

Come, come, my Queen : what sort of hero. King.

or warrior would 1 be
if I made tame surrender to Rama
and sued for a brazen peace?

420 Sitayana

It may be a false code, a killer-code,
a wasteful extravagance
of mutually assured destruction
and general misery.

But oh my worthy Queen, 1 cannot break
the ruthless warrior code
of the fabulous heroic ages,
and tamely play for safety.

Tis too late in the day for surrender,
and I cannot jeopardise
the name and fame of the Rakshasa clan
for my meed of slothful ease.

And, besides, in the complex theatre
of this earth, our well-laid plans
are likely to go astray, from a rush
of the unpredictable.

O my Queen, O my daughter, you’ve spoken
from the holy of holies,
the inviolate chamber of your hearts,
and chiefly for my own good.

But suppose 1 follow this easy line,
can we vouch for the result?

Can we really turn back the wheel of Time
and undo the abduction?

Ah 1 can’i ever hope to live it down, —
the contrivance, cowardice,
and cruelty of the action ! After
that wind, the present whirlwind!

For Sita too, the poor wounded woman,
who can predict the future?

There can be no simple cancellation
of the mangled time between.

And so my Queen and my Shakti, whom I’ve
too long taken for granted :
and O rare gift of Grace, Sulochana,
whom my folly has ignored :

forgive me, and the males of the species,
for all our egotisms
and iniquities — but it is too late
to undo my transgressions.

421 Ravana’s Dream

A new Dawn is stealing over Lanka,
and as long as there is liff
there’s hope too; and wish me well, both of you
let me not falter today.

Something may happen still, for 1 now mean
to wake up Kumbhakarna ;

I’ve had rest, and a cleansing of my soul —
let me meet my Ministers.”

And without more ado, and not waiting
for the ladies to answer,
he gave them an apologetic glance,
and then slowly went his way.

Mother and daughter looked at each other,
shared a common legacy
of resignation and fatality,
and followed with heavy steps.

But already ihc far East was aglow
with the ‘afflatus of Dawn,
and clinging to their diminishing hopes
they defied giant Despair.

Canto SI ; Kumbhakaraa’s Fall

Twas from Sulochana that Trijata
had heard of Ravana’s Dream:
now after its recital to Sita

she continued the story : 578

“Ravana felt both refreshed and subdued,
though stricken with weariness
of spirit still, and desired to confer
with his friends and advisers. 579

He remained in an introspective mood,
and the pressure of the past,
the burden of follies and transgressions,
rendered his gait unsteady. 580

Those grim curses which his misdemeanours
had provoked were now asking
for their grand cumulative accounting —
the finis of the story! 581

The rape of Rambha nymph of heaven, and
of Punjikasthali, and
of the fire-pure virgin Vedavati :

Sita was their avenger !_ 582

Then, turning away from these memories,
he ordered that his brother,

Kumbhakarna, be awakened from sleep
and led to the Council Hall. 583

By birth a colossus even among
the Rakshasas, for each day
of waking he slumbered for six long months,
a phenomenon indeed. 584

He had attended Council but ten days
earlier, and gone to sleep
at once ; ’twts no easy matter to wake
that determined slumberer. 585

But the deed had to be done, for the King’s
present need was paramount
permitting no delay, and methods harsh
and crude were called into play.

586

423 Kumbhakarna 's Fall

As he lay stretched out in a gaping cave
of imposing dimensionsS,
snoring in his sleep like a mountain hit
by fierce tempestuous winds,

in vain did the Rakshasa contingent
try to prick, prod and wake him
with maces, pestles, iron rods and clubs,
and even tree-trunks and rocks.

So terrific was his breath that sometimes
it hurled people Yojanas
afar, or sucked them into the ample
caverns of his huge nostrils.

Now horses, camels and elephants had
to be pressed into service,
and ’twas an integrated offensive
that achieved success at last.

He had now to be fed sumptuously,
and as he* got up to go
he seemed a portent, and he exuded
a nameless awe and terror.

Thus swung back to consciousness and well fed
for the fray, the gigantic
Kumbhakarna let himself be guided
to the royal Council Hall.

Seated there he slowly recollected
all that had happened before,
both the wise words of Vibhishana and
Ravana's obduracy.

Thus to the King: ‘So the War is on, caused
by your noosing of Sita:
and Vibhishana’s warning and advice
have been like water on sand.

rrfi not the stuff my brothers are made of —
between my elder’s “iivil,
my Good!” and Vibhishana’s “I follow
my own Truth!”, I’m mere tamas.

It’s not that 1 do not see you are wrong,
but since I cannot change you,
and 1 lack Vibhishana’s clarity.

I’ll fight and lay down my life.’”

424 Sitayana

While recounting the Council proceedings,

Trijata became involved
in the fast developing tragedy

and spoke with genuine feeling: 597

“You know, Sita, although Kumbhakarna
looms a mountain immobile,
he has his ethical imperatives

and his own code of honour. 598

When the despicable Mahodara
wanted false news to be spread
that Rama was dead, gaunt Kumbhakarna
came down heavily on him. 599

And so the momentous battle began
between the formidable
Kumbhakarna and the gallant forces
of Vanara Sugriva. 600

As he walked to the front, a vulture whirled
above and sat on his head ;
the earth shook and vixen howled — but nothing
daunted, he marched to his doom.

Although at first the giant’s very sight
scared the Vanaras away,

Angada rallied them into a fine
and fierce battle formation.

While the Vanaras assailed him with trees
and stones and sharp mountain-crests,

Kumbhakarna wielded his killer-mace,
or swallowed his opponents.

Some of the bravest of the Vanaras —

Nila, Gandhamadhana,

Dvividha, Sarabha and Gavaksha
failed to contain the giant,

and sturdy Hanuman himself was dazed
when he was hit by a spear,
and Angada too, receiving a blow
likewise, fell down unconscious.

Sugriva fared worse, as he was carried
for a prize to Lanka ; but
he bit the giant’s .rose and ears, and flew
back like wind to Rama’s side.

601

602

603

604

605

606

42 5 Kumbhakarna 's Fall

When the mutilated Kumbhakarna
returned to the front, he ^yas
hideous and frightful and comic at once,
but his fighting strength remained.

First Lakshmana tackled the colossus,
but could not force the issue :

Vibhishana came, but with a blessing
his elder waved him away.

Now Rama leapt into the fray at last,
and the giant was happy :

‘F* ome, Tiger among Men as they call you,
we’ll measure each other’s might!’

Rama began the fight by unleashing
the less decisive missiles,
but Kumbhakarna seemed to suck them in
through the pores of his body.

Then Rama sen ihe Vayu and Indra
missiles, -which cut one by one
Kumbhakarna’s arms; and other sharp darts
severed the two legs as well.

Even so, that mighty mountain of flesh
with his immense gaping mouth
looked menacing beyond words, and Rama
aimed numberless darts at him.

Last — to clinch the matter— Rama once more
sent the Indra shaft, which flew
like lightning, severed Kumbhakarna’s head
and terminated his life.

It was a necessary end, Sita,
for although not a sinner
like Ravana, he lacked Vibhishana’s
moral plenitude of strength.

Blit I needs must remember odd facets
of his native kindliness
on those rare occasions every six months
when he moved about with us.

The shattering news has reached Ravana,
and who knows how he will act,
what mad notions may not o’erpower him
and cause further confusion.

426 Sitavana

As I rushed here from the City Centre
I seemed to hear further din
and clash of arms beyond Lanka's ramparts ;
fighting has begun again!"

After Trijata took leave of Sita
with a wan and weary smile,
silence reigned although broken now and then
by bird-cries and woodland sounds.

More of this bitterness and violence,
and who could take the measure
of the aggregation of suffering
by the hapless innocents?

What had Havana’s unblemished consorts
to do with his lecherous
adventures, his blasphemous rampages,
his ruinous ambitions?

And this mighty mountainous Rakshasa,
the Lord of size and slumber,
must have hid a child’s sensibility
in his mould of majesty.

That the same Kaikasi should have mothered
Havana, Surpanakha,
as also this lately fallen giant,
and even Vibhishana !

Surrendering thus to cerebration,

Sita felt drawn helplessly
ever deeper into the labyrinth,
and this was no good at all.

A sudden bustle now disturbed the peace
around the Asoka Grove,
and she had the sharp sense of invasion
by a gang of intruders.

Scanning them closer as they came nearer,
she first recoiled at the sight
of Havana \/ho seemed to lead the group,
but soon she was seized with fright.

Who were the others, with their uncertain
moves and suspicious gestures?

Another assault on her loneliness?
or play of necromancy?

427 Kumbhakarna 's Fall

What did it mean? One of the company
looked like Janaka in chains :
the same fair Presence, now under a cloud,
and the same robes as of old, 627

Ravana led Janaka her father.

and stopped some paces away,
and massed behind were the Rakshasa train,
a spectral miscellany. 628

“O Maithili, Tve brought your Father here,”
said Ravana with a touch
of unseemly pride; "Videha is mine,
and Janaka my vassal. 629

Vaidehi, once more I lay at your feet
my heart and soul and fortune,
by accepting me, you can save yourself,
your father and your country.” 630

And the Mithilan King, as if playing
an agreed tole, spoke his part :

“Listen, oh my Child, before you answer,
for we’re both vi^'tims of fate.

Hapless as wc are, Sita, you can ^tlll
grasp a new felicity
by accepting the Rakshasa, and >ou’ll
redeem your Father as well.”

It was as though a knot of vipeis had
stung her all at once, - and yet
it was such superlative relief too ;
no, no, this wasn't her father’

”Aye, another of your necromaniic
gimmicks, O King’” she burst out,

“as* for you. Spectre’ Joker’ did you hope
you could ape my father's soul? 634

The saintly Janaka preached purity,
and bade me make my Rama
the sole religion of my life; fool, fool,
you aren’t Janaka, begone!” 635

The withering contempt with which Sita
dismissed him and the phoney
Janaka was a slap on Ravana's
face, and he felt deflated.

631

632

633

636

428 Sitayana

“I’ll kill you and consume you,” he thundered
and made a violent move,
but the others held him back, and Sita,
defiant still, taunted him:

637

“You’ll not kill me, Rakshasa King, you’ll not
kill Janaka, or yourself ;
it’s my lord, Rama, who will kill you soon,
and none can avert this now.”

638

What gave the fragile and trembling Sita
this elemental courage?

Even Ravana was silenced, and he
beat a pitiful retreat.

639

Peace prevailed near the Simsupa again,
and Maithili recovered
her deeper absolute poise, and became
incarnate Patience once more.

640

“Alas for the Queen and Sulochana!”

Sita mused sadly; “so much
for Ravana’s Dream, and its chastening
influence on his actions !

641

Ah no, he’s like a drowning one clutching
at rods that will drag him down
the more decisively, and not bale him
out of his predicament!”

642

Wisdom, she had learnt from the Rishis, lay
in quietude, acceptance,
patience and prayer, and a reliance
on Grace, its infinitudes.

643

Still she could hardly, bearing as she did
the birthmark of the Earth-born,
quite erase from her memory the strange
hieroglyphs of suffering.

•

644

She could hear at uncertain intervals
the reverberent echoes
of the insa le violence of the war
raging outside Lanka’s walls.

645

Was it the Vanara shout, or the scream
preluding the final gasp?
or was it yet anoi..<-, Rakshasa
succumbing to Rama’s shaft?

646

429 Kumbhakarna s Fall

Maithili found the waiting oppressive,
a breeding season for fear;

“Let this end today,” she ardcfntly prayed,

“let Truth and Rama prevail.” 647

Ending her session of expectancy,
the light-stepping Anala
drew near the Simsupa, and Maithili

now smiled through her anxiety. 648

“I’m coming from the heart of the city,”
she began, “penetrating
the , tightened network around Asoka -

biit of course they all know me. 649

Trijata must have told you of the fall
of Uncle Kumbhakarna,
the unwieldy hulk of a Rakshasa,
a Homo Leviathan! 650

He used to carry us on his shoulders,
and we felt so important :
only he hadn’t the will to sacrifice
the lower for the higher^ 651

The news of his fall weakened Ravana,
and he cried he was reaping
the wages of the sin of rejecting

Vibhishana’s sage advice. 652

He was openly shaken, and gave vent
to his uncontrollable

grief, and recalling Kumbhakarna’s strength,

marvelled that he too could die’ 653

Rather unhinged by this latest reverse
he played with necromancy
agavn, but your exposure of the t. ick
was another bitter pill. 654

At this extremity, Ravana’s sons
Trisiras, Atikaya,

Narantaka, Devantaka — rallied
to his side ready to fight. >55

These royal Princes, the best of their kind,
adepts in the art of war
and the grim science of kill and overkill,
didn’t lack the humanities.

656

430 Sitayana

But now madness is the stern law of life,
and mad Ravana was glad
to clasp the loving hands stretched' out, and thought
that he had gained a reprieve.

The young Princes, armoured and bejewelled
and supported by thousands
of Rakshasa veterans, sauntered forth
with high hopes of victory.

Like a weird rhythm renewing itself,
the nightmarish clash of arms -
shouts for yells, teeth and nails for tridents, and
rocks and trees for javelins -

it was the holocaust of war again
with the grim finality
of assured annihilation, — only
motherhood wailing, wailing.

Oh Sita, there’s something wholly perverse
or subtly esoteric
in the tantalising vicissitudes
of these orgies of killing.

Ravana and the Rakshasa race had
by their prolonged askesis
stock-piled vast stores of deterrent power
to strike at their enemies.

And se<% Sita, these two mere men, Rama
and Lakshmana, and allies
so primitive as you might say. wielding
hill-crests instead of arrows!

Somehow the seemingly less armoured side
fighting on enemy soil, -
somehow the Vanara hordes have prevailed
o’er the mighty Rakshasas.

There’s surely something ineluctable —
call it Truth, or God, or Grace —
some unseen universal potency

that kneads and structures our ends.

A Rakshasi born, I too once felt proud
of our race and its glories
of askesis, supei human powers
and invincibility

43 1 Kumhhakarna 's Fall

But I’m Vibhishana’s daughter as well,
and I’ve my seasons of doubt;
nevertheless it was your coihing here
that opened my eyes at last. 667

What’s the sure source of sustaining power
that makes you unflappable
in your helplessness, and turns Ravana
into a knave and a fool? 668

I must presume it’s the self-same power
immaculate and potent
that makes a mockery of the titans’

might and fruits of askesis. 669

For all Narantaka’s lust for battle,

Angada’s fist laid him low;
and Devantaka and Trisiras fell
before the great Wind-God’s son. 670

As for Mahuvlara, mean and servile
and despicable, he charged
against Angada but met his doom when
Nila smashed him with a tree. 671

Then it was the turn ot Atikaya,
fair Dhanyamalini's son:
you remember how she shielded you here
by diverting Ravana. 672

Atikaya, scholar, archer, swordsman,
driven by fatality
was to become a worthy oblation
to the raging fire of war. 673

When the Vanaras found it hard going,

Lakshmana look him on hand
and after some bitter fighting, killed him
*with the Brahma-charged missile. 674

The news of Atikaya’s death spread like
fire over Lanka, and iiis
mother, distracted and in disarray,
sought out Ravana and cried : 675

‘Where is my son, O King, what has happened
to your vaunted feats of war?

Many are we mothers wailing today,
and you’re silent; where’s your might?

676

432 Sitayam

You don’t speak, and don’t seem even to weep:

are you drained of all feeling?

Ah for Sita’s sake and your senile lusi,
what’s this insane sacrifice?’ 677

Many are Ravana’s hapless consorts
that thus cry out their distress
and are in terror as to what more might
happen in the coming hours. 678

Ravana the Rakshasa is also
Father of his sons and his
people, but pride and lust and stubbornness
make him his own enemy.” 679

Canto 52 : Between Despair a*bd Hope

After a pause, Anala continued;

“Alas Sita, nobody —
neither old Malayavan, nor the Queen,
the noble Mandodari, 680

neither the tears of the bereaved mothers
nor yet the fervent pleadings
of Sulochana, Indrajit’s consort,
can now hold back Ravana. 681

But like one half demented or under
the power of hypnosis,
or as though bound by predestination,

Ravana enacts his role ! 682

Once mc:e saw by his side the gallant
Indrajit, all the grimmei
for having tom himself away from his
protective Sulochana. 683

For Ravana, ’twas one more pitiful
postponement of the final
reckoning, and he was ready to risk
the choicest of his archers. 684

‘My son, my son, my still .surviving son,’
he cried out; ‘that 1 should live
to see this sad day when I’m left naked
to my puny enemies ! 685

The ablest of my heroes have fallen
on the blood-stained battlefield
stgjck down with ease by mere boyish humans
and woodland bears and monkeys 686

O Indrajit, didn’t the miserable
Brothers somehow vv in release
from your powerful serpent-darts that bound
them into unconsciousness? 687

What even Devas, Asuras, Yakshas,

Gandharvas and Kinnaras
cannot do, these seemingly feckless men
and monkeys have accomplished. 688

»

434 Sitayana

Can it be that Rama is verily
the preeminent Divine,
the centre and circumference of all,
the womb of all, tomb of all?

This happy and splendid haven, Lanka,
now a gloomy prison-house;
all four gorgeous gates are barred and bolted,
and grim sentries everywhere.

That’s the predicament of my city
where mourning lies like a pall,
and not a house or mansion but you hear
its song of lamentation.

You may tell me, as Vibhishana did,
and Kumbhakarna as well,
that I can even now master desire
and surrender Maithili.

It’s not all that simple as people think,
a summary transaction;
don’t you see I’m verily caught within
the noose of fatality?

1 will have my place in myth and legend
only because of this role
1 play — that of wife-snatcher with a mad
craving for the forbidden.

Should 1 return Sita on a platter,
what would be left of me. then?

But now, for m> obsession with Sita,
ni live in all future time.

Fight for me, and die for me, if you will ;

and if you can't, no matter,

I can leap into my chariot still
and give a fight till I die.’

Then Indrajit said with resignation:

'Why should you, noble Father,
succumb to this depression of spirits
so long as Indrajit lives?

What though so much is lost? All is not lost,
and the day may still i^e ours;
with my will uno -nnuerable, I will
shock and break ihe enemy.'

435 Between Despair and Hope

Without waiting for Ravana’s reply
but with his silent blessings.,

Indrajit speeded to the battlefield
with a supporting army.

699

As Meghanad rode in his chariot
cheered and fanned by the chowries,

Lanka like the blaze of the setting Sun
glowed with a deceptive hope.

700

Arriving at the gory battle-front,

Indrajit made oblations
to the Fire-God with invocatory
devilish incantations.

701

and when the terrible Agni appeared,

Meghanad asked for the shaft,
the irresistible Brahma-charged dart,
and seizing it felt secure.

702

By this reckless surrender to Falsehood
for transient advantage,

Indrajit had condemned himself indeed
to final defeat a^d leath.

703

For the ready barter of his moral
being, the propitiated

Daemon granted invisibility
and strike-power for a while.

704

The battle raged once more, and for that hour
cut out of eternity

he rained destruction and caused disarray
among the Vanara ranks.

705

Even the most seasoned - Gaja, Mainda,
Gandhamadana, Nila,

Sugriva, Hanuman were unequal
to the unholy contest.

706

Sustaining hits from shi ^-p arrows that came
from a source invisible,

Rama himself grew thoughtful and advised
inaction to Saumitri:

707

‘Our side is demoralised, the sharp darts
come from Nowhere, and the best
we can do is total self-containment,
a condition of >lasis

708

436 Sitayana

And, besides, he may be soon discharging
the terrible Brahma-shaft,
and the wiser course would be to submit
for the nonce in askesis.’

When thus they lapsed into unconsciousness
silencing their faculties,

Indrajit felt buoyed up with his success
and rushed to inform the King.

‘It’s all over, Father,’ he said briefly ;

‘their army is a shambles,
all their leaders are put out of action,
and the Brothers are finished!’

For the anxious Rakshasa King, ’twas like
ambrosia to the dying,
and Indrajit too, flushed with victory,
retired to his apartments.”

Actually when his triumphant son
had withdrawn from his presence,

Ravana slipped into introspection
and faced his moment of Truth.

Alone with his uncamouflaged nude self,
he could now see the mirror
image of his mind, heart and tortured soul,
and knew he was lost indeed.

He had grown sere and unsure, and perhaps
people could see the colour
of coming events, and everybody
was pressing him with advice!

The puny Rama had had the better
of great Lanka’s mighty King,
and all the worlds had witnessed his disgrace,
his abject discomfiture.

And what ignominy, Ravana thought,
that the^e forest denizens,
the despicable bears and Vanaras,
should outdo his Rakshasas!

His doughtiest had failed and licked the dust
of the gory battlefield ;

Kumbhakama, matchless in his main strength
and colossal in his cast :

437 Between Despair and Hope

the intrepid swordsmen, Devantaka,

Narantaka, Trisiras,
and the peerless Atikaya, buoyant,
handsome and impetuous.

And wasn’t it strange that, while his own forces
were steadily thinning out,
the monkeys and bears seemed to replenish
somehow their heavy losses?

Indrajit’s victory was deceptive,
for ‘twas not arms against arms,
nor an army of Rakshasas fighting
a multitude of monkeys.

Ravana thought there were other powers,
mysterious potencies,
operating behind the scenes, turning
his best strength into weakness.

His dream-v’oion on the night of disgrace
with its ijins of self-knowledge
and stabs of self-impeachment burnt him still
and could not be wished away.

The long slumbering psychic entity,
obscured by the mountain-mass
of the desire-dominated ego
was now a worm of dissent.

It stirred, crawled and burrowed within, causing
no end of unease, and yet
powerless to alter the direction
of his road to perdition.

Twas an excruciating inquisition,
the soul’s voiceless indictment
being met by a mix of evasions
*and tardy recognitions:

“I .am what 1 am, the flawed progeny
of my father and mother;
and the evil hour of my conception
decreed the course of my life.

Tis said of my antagonist, Rama,
that his life’s law is ‘One shaft,
one word, one wife!’ and never a second;
and that is the way he’s made.

438 Sitayana

But another law has governed my life,
and grown into a licence
it has used the great power of my amis
for my bouts of indulgence. 729

After holy Mandodari, Maya’s
incomparable daughter,
what reckless cussedness made my fancy
roam in pastures out of bounds? 730

And my appetite of diseased lust found
neither fulfilment nor joy,
and must be unceasingly on the prowl
for victims constantly new. 731

Experience has gathered o’er the years,
yet knowledge has lagged behind,
and corrective existential wisdom
has stubbornly passed me by. 732

Alas, my conquests whether of kingdoms,
of warriors or beauties,
have but stimulated my appetite
and worsened the malady. 733

Of what use are a thousand victories,
a gyiiaeceum of trophies,
when I’ve cheated myself of the supreme
conquest of my desire-self? 734

Desire isn’t mastered by self-indulgence
any more than raging fire
is put out by ghee ; and lechery but
eats itself demanding more’ 735

No, no, for one like me with my dead weight
of self-won fatality,

there’s no makeshift retrieval from the brink,
no face-saving compromise 736

The worst of all is that I still cannot
fetter my insane ardour
and maddening passion for Maithili,

and I bum, burn, all the time. 737

Angelic Mandodari has failed, and
Sulochana has failed, and
angry Dhanyamahni has failed, and
my Dream and Vwion have failed.

738

439 Between Despair and Hope

Unlike all my previous infatuations,
this my current lunacy
by the very fact of non-attaiiiment
consumes me as forest fire.

It’s all right for the prudent worldly-wise
and the ones apprehensive
about Lanka’s future to advise me
to make my peace with Rama.

As well darken the brightness of the Suti
or reverse the march of Time
or halt the stem Law of Causality
as change the bent of my mind !

I will not, 1 cannot, give up Sita,
and I cannot, out of fear
or craven calculation, sue for peace
and lick the dust of Rama.

Be it today, tomorrow or after,
let the biner fight go on ;

Sita may be beyond me, she may prove
the blood-red ray of Lanka ;

but 1 who have lived on this earth too long
and piled up Himalayas
of iniquities can find no escape
to safety with self-respect.

The prevailing luck after Indrajit’s
success in arms cannot last;
the ancient verities cannot be mocked ;
and my Time must have a stop!”

Meanwhile the sight of the fallen Brotheis,
lying inert as though dead,
hj^d spread depression and fear in the ranks
of the Vanara army.

“But my Father,” reported Anala,

“rallied their drooping spirits,
explaining that Rama and Lakshmana
were only playing a game.

While he went round the Camp with Hanuman
boosting the flagging morale
of the Vanaras, the wise Jambavan
advised remedial measures.

739

740

741

742

743

744

745

746

747

748

440 Sitayana

Forthwith Maruti flew beyond the seas
to the sacred mountain-range,
broke off a hill-crest rich with healing herbs
and was soon back in the Camp.

749

The very breath of the approaching herbs —

Sanfivini and the rest —
galvanised Raghava and Saumitri,
and soon all were healed indeed.

750

And this, Sita, was the odd thing about
the teat of resurrection :
while all the Vanara dead, hurt or sick
were restored to life and health.

751

the Rakshasas derived no benefit,
for all their dead and wounded
had been hastily dumped into the sea
lest they cause disaffection !

752

It’s Ravana’s strange notion that the killed
or maimed, when seen by others,
will quite undermine civilian morale
and lead to loss of prestige.

753

He doesn’t want to know that this is a doomed
city — that crippling damage
has been done with every house lamenting
the loss of its male members.

754

On Rama’s side, however, the healing
now completed, Maruti
conveyed the hill back to Himalaya
and returned with lightning speed.

755

Such is the present posture of affairs;

and the Vanara leaders,
unmindful of the night, are in council,
and surprises are in store.”

756

Now Anala went, promising she would
come later, and in that grim
witching hour of the night, Maithili’s mind
was in a mighty ferment :

•

757

■‘Yes, I’m Sita still with all my current
load of pain and suffering ;
but something te^c me I’m my Mother too,
universal Mothei Earth.

758

441 Between Despair and Hope

And I’m all the daughters of the Mother
and must share their misery ;
now the wound is mine, now* hers, and thousands
feel the heart-ache all the time.

759

The tenor of Anala’s — Trijata’s —
vivid strips of reportage,
whether of Vanara or Rakshasa
caught in the wild Dance of Death,

760

always the earth-mother in me trembles
for my daughters’ bemoaning
of/ather, uncle, husband, brother, son
offered to the raging fire.

761

As Sita, my hurts, pains, lacerations
and woes interminable
drive me almost to the brink of despair,
and only Grace retrieves me.

762

But this outflow of consciousness, or this
equation with the Mother
and all her daughters too, that’s part of my
terrestrial destiny.

763

Nay more, for the Mother universal,

Madhavi, is also one
with the sublime Lord and omnipotent

Master of the triple worlds.

764

This simultaneity of existence
at divers levels — mine own,
my maternal ambience, and the Ground
of Being and Transcendence :

765

1 can’t see where one ends and the other
begins, and how all three merge
in.my zero insignificance here,
yet remain infinity!

766

Ah this cruel sundering from Rama
and the chain of misciies
it engenders for such a variety
of humans, monkeys. Titans!

767

But if my dear Lord and Lover and God
were truly severed from me,
have I autonomy enough to breathe
or think or despair or hope?

768

442 Sitayana

‘He’s here, he’s not here,’ are emanations
of a dual perception,

and what reigns is beyond the humah ken,
but Grace remains, and what’s Grace . . .

769

She had not reached the end of her deeper
ruminations when broke in
the excited Trijata, followed by
the weary-eyed Anala.

770

“All hell-fire has been let loose on Lanka,”
cried Trijata in distress;

“O Sita, it’s as I dreamt at the time

Hanuman visited you.

771

This is what seems to have happened : after

Sanjivini revived all
the Vanara hosts, Sugriva ordered
the invasion of Lanka.

111

The nimbler and heftier Vanaras
easily scaled Lanka’s walls
under cover of night, and their torches
started fires all o’er the place.

773

It was like the havoc Maruti caused
when his tail was set on fire,
and he took revenge by rampaging on
a wild incendiary spree.

774

Palaces and mansions came tumbling down
making deafening noises ;
shattered were the four prestigious gateways,
and rubble-heaps in their place.

775

What a phenomenal conflagration :

sandalwood, silks, tiger-skins,
garments in lamb’s wool, golden ornaments —
now all have gone up in smoke.

776

The helpless inmates, taken by surprise
and many roused from slumber,
acted in ti agic or farcical ways
and cursed the day they were born.

111

Anala tells me that the confusion
was rather catastrophic;
and trapped in tbMv apartments high above,
women wailed most piteously.

778

443 Between Despair and Hope

Lanka lit up on this darkest of nights
seemed, she says, the boiling sea,
and the cattle, horses and elephants
were in a frenzy of fright.

And when the able-bodied Rakshasas
tried to escape from Lanka,
they were set upon by the Vanaras
on guard outside the ramparts.”

Trijata paused as if quite exhausted
by the effort to re-live
the midnight phantasmagoria, and
Anala added some more:

“I’ve just come from Lanka, and what Tve heard
and seen defies description.

The midnight operation first provoked
a massive counter-attack.

Ravana seiu s^jjae of his best fighters
for a counter-offciisive,
and in the hectic melee that ensued
Angada killed Kampana ;

Sonitaksha, Prajangha, Yupaksha
who made a reckless joint front
fell to the aggregate might of Mainda,

Angada and Dvividha.

With these warriors silenced one by one,
the Rakshasa army turned
for succour to Kumbha and Nikumbha,
Kumbhakarna’s mighty sons.

After holding at bay the combined might
of Angada, Jambavan,

Mainda and Dvividha and Sushena,
the impetuous Kumbha,

who firmly declined the grace expended —

‘Get rested, and come again!’ —
by chivalrous Sugriva, was knocked down
by a fell blow from his fist.

Nikumbha now entered the field eager
to avenge his brother’s death,
but, after a bitter fight, Hanuman
fiercely battered him to death.

779

780

781

782

783

784

785

786

787

788

444 Sitayam

Maddened by the inexorable march
of events, Ravana sent
Khara’s son, the cruel Makaraksha,'-
to stem the worsening rot. 789

His opening onslaught gave disquiet
to the Vanara forces,
and this brought Rama’s bow into action
with immediate result. 790

Makaraksha fumed at sight of Rama
the killer of his father,

Khara, at Janasthana, and felt roused
to wreck his revenge on him. 791

The combat tha* ensued was most bitter
but Rama closed upon him,
split his bow, broke his chanot, and killed
him with the Agni-charged shaft.” 792

Canto S3: Indrajit’s Fall and After

Having paused for recovering her breath,

Anala resumed her tale ;

“This latest reverse made Ravana turn
once more to his eldest son. 793

And his face grim, cloud-like and glowering,
the resolute Indrajit,
resolved on victory at any cost,

made his fire-oblations first. 794

His supernatural soliciting
had paid ample dividends
on earlier occasions; now he would
clinch the issue and prevail. 795

I know only this, neither his mother,

Mandodari, nor his wife,

Sulochana, liked the fanatic eyes
that seemed hell-bent on success. 796

Sita, I saw his face at a distance
as he invoked his Daemon ;

I didn't like it, and in a nameless fright
I hurried to Trijata. 797

1 don’t know, and I dare not speculate
what the mad creature will do,
or has done; the dark is still darker now,
and the dawn is far away. 798

But I 've Mother Sarama’s word she will
keep a vigilant eye on

happenings, and I know she will find means
to communicate with us.” 799

Long past midnight, and now racing towards
an uncertain dawn over
battered Lanka and its constituent
Garden of Hope, Asoka : 800

three silent figures primordially
feminine, Devi Sita
as Maheswari, Kali Trijata,

Anala-Saraswati !

801

446 Sitayana

The slow tread of the seconds and minutes
here in the sheltered Garden,
and the wild frenzy of the race of Time
just across the enclosure!

802

As her eyes rested with infinite love
and gratitude on the twain,

Sita felt eternally bound with them
and shed a few holy tears.

803

The peace that prevailed in their midst belied
the native fury raging
in their separate cerebral cockpits
concerning coming events.

804

Between this holocaust of suffering
innocence and the stern faith
in final victory over Darkness,
the shadows rehearsed their role.

805

The pre-dawn hour of densest inconscience,—
with the Dark at the zenith
and the light of Hope lost in the nadir, —
slowly measured out its span.

806

From the remote theatres of conflict
stray echoes of violence
and reverberations of the death-gasps
penetrated Asoka.

807

Whenever Sita caught the vibrations,
a shudder shook her being,
and she could sense that her two companions
were equally affected.

808

In this intricately interwoven
web of existential life,
how was self-isolation or selfish
insulation to be won?

809

Sita, Trijata, Anala: they spoke
folios without speaking,
and in the.r cold passivity, they shared
all the warfront’s pain and tears.

810

Not admitting it even to themselves,
they were still tense, expectant,
and as the slow minutes crawled their life out,

Sarama herself appeared.

811

447 Indrajit 's Fall and A fter

and announced: “Sita, Indrajit is dead,
fallen before Saumitri ;
now Ravana’s back is broken* - the rest
is but a question of time.

812

Anala must have told you how, after

Khara’s son’s death, Indrajit
marched to the warfront, grimly determined
he would destroy the Brothers.

813

His expel tise in marksmanship, coupled
with his magical powers,
helpjed him to direct the most lethal darts
from an invisible pad.

814

The night was rendered darker by the smoke
from his exploding arrows,
and whole battalions of brave Vanaras
fell unconscious on the ground.

815

When in quick letaliation Lakshmana
threatened to exterminate
the Rakshasas, Rama detailed the checks
ordained by the Code of War:

816

'War is not wholesale murder, Saumitri:

we should spare the innocent,
and those that abandon all resistance,
or seek safety at our hands.

817

It’s true Indrajit employs sorcery
and wages an unjust war:
we’ll soon find a way of silencing him
without involving others.’

818

The fire and brimstone in Lanka last night
was on Sugriva’s, and not

Rama’s reflex action, but Indrajit
had brought it on his people.

819

Now wily Meghanad’s magic invoked
an ethereal Sita,

and albeit an insubstantial figment,
enough to cause confusion.

820

Indrajit held up this apparition
before the Vanara ranks
and Hanuman himself, and a chill air
lashed at them like poisoned knives.

821

448 Sitayana

Even to the keen and reverent eyes
of Maruti the spectre
seemed the person and presence of Devi :
the same eyes and single plait !

With a flourish, Indrajit struck at it
with his hand, and as it cried
‘Rama, Rama!’, he cast the lifeless form
on the field for all to see.

‘O Vanaral’ he cried to Hanuman,

‘now all your labour is lost :
and I’ll seek out Rama and Lakshmana,
and kill them both, and you tool’

Overcoming the shock of the moment
Hanuman rallied his ranks,
made a fierce stand for a while,— then arranged
for an orderly retreat.

When he reported the cataclysmic
development to Rama,
there was disbelief teaming with despair,
and their vision was clouded.

Presently astute Vibhishana came,
and fathoming the reason
for the prevalent gloom, spoke the right words
surging from his ripe^ knowledge:

‘Rid yourself of this delusion, Rama,
Lakshmana, Sugriva, all :
it’s one more heinous trick by Indrajit —
but Maithili is alive !

1 see the strategem only too well :

a mean ruse to distract you,
while Indrajit is at Nikumbila
engaged in a sacrifice.

Should he bring to fruition his evil rites,
he will be invincible ;
there’s no ime to lose, give battle to him
at Nikumbila at once.’

Greatly relieved yet seized with urgency,
as directed by Rama,

Saumitri and the Vanara forces
made haste to fight Indrajit.”

449 Indrajit 's Fall and After

During Sarama’s controlled recital
of the midnight happenings,

Sita and the two sisters felt v^iried
and quick-changing emotions:

shock at Indrajit’s perfidy, anger
and agony for Rama’s
suffering, and joy that Vibhishana
had exposed the plot in time.

Sarama continued her narrative:

“Sita, it was a near thing,
for Meghanad was rapt in his foul rites
already at the Temple.

But sustained by Vibhishana's counsel,

Saumitri struck with fury,
and Hanuman and the army maintained
the tempo of the attack.

Indrajit’s d':;f<^‘nce cover was shattered,
and he found himself exposed
in the profane spot where Lakshmana’s dans
assailed him unerringly.

Thus wrenched ^ < ematurely from the Chaitya
and thrown on the defensive,
he was furious the rites were ruined
and fought with redoubled ire.

Sighting Vibhishana, Indrajit flew
into a rage and charged him
with treachery, but the uncle hit back
and reaffirmed his Dharma.

The bitter fight to a finish between
Saumitri and Indrajit
now began with the shadows darkening
yet further, and no holds barred.

Being evenly matched in weaponry
and equally determinf^d
to win, they were like fierce feuding lions
or clashing constellations.

The rapid exchange of darts but increased
the tempo of the fighting,
and while blood flowed freely from their bodies,
neither showed signs of fatigue.

450 Sitayana

As the battle raged with mounting frenzy,
Vibhishana intervened
to decisive effect and exhorted
his side to strike harder still :

‘Many Rakshasa leaders have fallen,
and frightful is the roll-call :

Kumbha, Nikumbha, Jangha, Prahasta,
and Kumbhakarna himself :

Indrajit is the King’s remaining prop,
and I would kill him myself
but my eyes grow dim — and so Saumitri,
tackle the hero at once.’

For a while longer the battle raged, and
Lakshmana, Indrajit, and
Vanaras and Rakshasas, were locked up
in a dreadful death-grapple.

As he gained a steady ascendancy,

Saumitri made Indrajit
lose his horses and chariot, and they
waged the battle on the ground.

The expert bowmen releasing arrows
charged with diverse potencies
enacted rapid strike and counter-strike
and crescendoed the suspense.

But all dread Indrajit’s ingenuities
were to fail in the end, and
Saumitn’s shaft, shot with the Indra-spell,
severed the warrior’s head.

With that hero’s death, his army scattered
in panic, and Lakshmana
received superlative praise for his feat,
and his wounds healed on their own.

‘It’s as though Ravana’s right hand is gone,’
said Rama with great relief ;

‘doubtless he’ll come now with a mighty force,
but our victory is sure.’”

Sarama continued: “The stunning news
of Indrajit’s death threw down
Ravana as one struck dead, and when he
woke up, he wept piteously.

45 1 Indrajit 's Fall and A fter

For some minutes he was incoherent,
whimpering and wallowing
in the peevish gutter of grie>iances
against traitors and false friends,

railing wildly about men and monkeys
and threatening reprisals:
and in the sore mood of desperation,
there’s nothing he might not do’

It was distressing beyond words to see
the bereaved Mandodari
and the widowed Sulochana, alike
humped in the silence of grief.

Hadn’t they, with their creeping premonitions
and intuitive grasp of things,
quite seen through the fagade of appearance
and warned both father and son?

The Rakshd hugging his ego still,
must deny the b gher Light,
rely on double-edged boons from the gods,
and take the road to ruin.

’Twas a terrible .mu pitiful sight,

Sita, for the bereaved ones
fixed an unwinking stare on Meghanad
suppressing the flood of tears.

Mother, mother, sorrowing mothers all ,

Lanka mother of mothers,
her travail of motherhood; Mother Earth
and her sorrowing daughters!

As 1 was hurrying to reach this Grove,
people in groups were talking —
for the long night was spending itself out -
with uncomprehending looks.

There is sorrow that the Crown Prince is dead,
but in muted muttermgs
folks blame the mad obsession of the King
for Lanka’s predicament.

I heard too, the first time since war began,
people talking openly
and venomously of Surpanakha -
the source of it all. they say.

452 Sitayam

They confer among themselves in small groups
cursing the day she came here
from Dandaka to inflame Ravana,
her vulnerable Brother. 862

Revenge and lust, the ancient lunacies :

revenge for Khara’s fourteen
thousand fallen in Dandaka, and lust
for the purest of women ! 863

Thwarted herself in her unseemly lust
for the Prince of Ayodhya,
she needs must involve our Rakshasa race
and drive it to bite the dust! 864

Vibhishana did his best, and even
Kumbhakama made his point :
only Surpanakha, engine of fate,

has fuelled Lanka’s downfall. 865

I heard one almost hiss out from the depths ;

T could hush up this serpent
for all the ills she has let loose on us —
but no, she’s unsinkable’’ 866

Another said; T don’t know, the temper
of the people is nasty;
should she now make a public appearance,

I cannot vouch she’ll be safe . . .’ ” 867

Sarama had not concluded her tale
when, at the Asoka Gate,
there was the sumrising flash of torches
and the scurrying of steps. 868

Reacting instinctively, Maithili
sat under the Simsupa
in her self-protective stance, and looked like
the Goddess of sufferance. 869

And Sarama and her daughters, scenting
the imminence of trouble,
withdrew in haste to the wings, but ready
for intervention in need. 870

Now sure enough, with a profane flourish,
his eyes blazing with anger,
his movements spasmodic and uncontrolled,

Ravana glared at Sita.

871

453 Indrajit *s Fall and A fter

His dark face, ever fearful to behold,
all the more forbidding now
being disfigured by desperation
and the desire for revenge ;

his menacing armour and weaponry —
the gains of long askesis —
and the shining sword held in his firm grip:
’twas wrathful Rudra himself!

Behind him were some of his ministers
agitated and worried,
and charmers from the gynaeceum crying,
and trying to distract him.

Seeing Ravana advance towards her,
his eyes aglow with hatred,
his hand gripping the handle of the sword,
and his menace like Yama’s:

and grasping the .ense of his wicked words —
“Ah my brave son, Indrajit,
only killed a phantom Sita; I will
now hack do'’ ii <lie real one!”

Sita felt pushed to the brink of her life
and sobbed uncontrollably:

“He’ll sword me, and has perhaps already
killed Rama and Lakshmana.

Had I only let myself be carried
by Hanuman on his back,

1 would be with my beloved Rama
but alas for Kausalya!”

Stung to remonstrance by her moving words.

^his minister, Suparsva,
frantically appealed to Ravana
to see wisdom and hold back:

“How can you, O mignty King and Master
of Vedic lore, raise your hand,
defying the Laws of Dharma, against
a hapless woman you love?

Direct your wrath, O King, to the hero,
Rama, and to Lakshmana
the killer of your brave son, Indrajit :
you may yet win Maithili!”

454 Sitayana

The women in Ravana’s entourage,
with Sarama joining them,
rushed forward to make a defensive ring
round the swooning Maithili. 882

His wild frenzy having spent itself out,

Ravana held back his hand
as though accepting Suparsva’s advice
and hied back to his palace. 883

There was general relief, and as they
followed their Lord, his spouses
cast friendly backward glances at Sita,
fast reviving from her shock. 884

“Let me go now, Sita,” said Sarama;

“all’s well now, but I’ll return
to the base and keep an eye on events
and send word through Anala.” 885

Canto 54 ; Suspense and Apocalypse

Darkness receding, the Sun was rising,
and Sita and Trijata

prayed inly that the new day would witness
Rama’s final victory. 886

Trijata broke the oppressive silence
with the comment; “Isn't it strange,

Sita, that Ravana can so swiftly
hop from love to taking life? 887

He ignored all moral imperatives,
all prudence and propriety,
when he stole you like a thief and professed
an overmastering love. 888

And now, his arm ' largely routed, his
wairior sons all dead, his
love turns to hatred, and with sword in hand
he rushes here lo kill you!”

Sita answered slowly with a faint smile :

“Where’s the surprise, Trijata?

He has always held the threat, ’Accept me,
or I’ll hack you for my meal!'

Why profane the name and nature of Love
when with such monsters as these
it’s merely a sickness of appetite,
a race to possess or kill?

Mandodari his exemplary Queen,
the fair Dhanyamalini,
and companions so many, none oi them
could fetter his roving lust.

for this fever, this sick .ess, this madness —
wasn’t Dasaratha himself
a slave to Kaikeyi’s charm?- this craving
is not Love, but a death-wish

O Trijata, how many follies, how
many crimes, and how many
wanton desecrations aren’t committed
in the gloried name ot Love?

889

890

891

892

893

894

456 Sitayana

There’s the hunger of the body, the worse
hunger of the mind, both fed
by the hunger of the ego — all end

in mere satiety and death. 895

’Twas because of this same aberration
that Indra, who is neither
Asura nor Man but the god of gods,
ruined fair Ahalya’s life. 896

I’ve seen, Trijata, the resurrected
Ahalya, more goddess than
woman, and more divinely human than
many flawed divinities. 897

Yes, I’ve known the native splendour of Love
in my holy wedded life,
and this Love is wide as the universe
and wholly enfranchising.

I suffer from physical severance
from Rama, but the life-force
that’s his love, an ambrosial ambience,
enfolds and sustains me still.

When will people learn, Trijata, to use
words in their right sense ; when will
they learn to value love and peace and life
and turn back from hate, war, death?”

Trijata was lost in thought for a while
before the words came: “Sita,
all this push of desire and heat of war
and insane largesse of death *

To what end all Ravana’s tapasyal
the boons he wrested? the shafts
he secured? the run of his victories?
the extent of his empire?

Surely such excessive or obsessive
ambition is a danger

and a trap for body, heart, mind and soul,
an invitation to death ! 903

When people secure immunity boons
there’s a fatal catch somewhere;
and my Father, citing a precedent,
warned the King to be wary.

898

899

900

901

902

904

457 Suspense and Apocalypse

Asura Hiranyakasipu thought
that neither day nor nighUwould
witness his death, no weapon would cause it,
nor animal, god or man.

905

And he met his death in the twilight hour
on a doorstep, his body
split by the sharp nails of Narasimha,

Lion’s head on Man’s body!

906

I now see that Rama was wise to tell

Kaikeyi: Take the Kingdom
foi* Bharata ; I’ll spend, since that’s your wish,
fourteen years in the forest.’

907

When you thus surrender rather than seize,
however heavy-going
it may seem for a time. Providence must
shape thincs fair in course of time.”

908

Thus faith and hope: faith against disbelief,
hope against desperation ;
the see-saw between life and death, or love
and hatred, prMongs Uself!

909

The weary minutes crawled miserably,
and Asoka’s silences
as often before, were punctuated
by weird sounds from near or far.

910

In their private universes, Sita
with her earth-affinities,
and Trijata with her clairvoyances,
explored the contingencies.

911

As she brooded o’er the sordid features
of her uncle’s abduction
of*Sita, the cowardly acquiescence
by the royal courtiers.

912

•

the petrified helplessness of the true
well-wishers of Ravana,

Trijata recoiled from the strategies
of the Sita-obsessed King.

913

Ruse after infantile ruse engineered
by brazen calculation,
shadow-boxing with Vidyujjihva’s tricks
and melodramatic hits.

914

458 Sitayana

the doughty Meghanad's self-demeaning
diversionary gimmicks,
the ready resort to necromancy
or cold-blooded violence :

915

first the fake body of lifeless Rama,
then the Raghus entangled
in the meshes of potent serpent-darts,
next the Janaka spectre.

916

anon the slaying of the ghost Sita,
and this latest infamy,

Ravana’s run to Asoka to kill,
yea, hack the living Sita ’

917

The psychic Trijata had a tremor,
her body shook, the scales fell
from her burning eyes, and she seemed to see
far, far into the future.

918

The sights she saw, the horrors, perversions,
the moral obliquities,
the sharp reversions to the bestial,
the wild orgies of the night!

919

Twas with a mighty effort Trijata
read the script of the vision,
and turning now to the startled Sita,
spoke in feverish accents:

920

“O Sita, what nightmarish sights are these,
a tapestry unrolling,
and the future throwing up horrendous
spurts of possibility'

921

Mark the male of the species- call him Man,

01 Asura, or Deva —
infinite his expertise, whether for
creation or ruination ’

922

The sights add up to an apocalypse
of blinding intensity:
and oh, the woman, the child, the aged,
and all the defenceless ones!

923

Woman is often admired and cherished,
installed on a nedestal
as Shakti, Sundan, Grihalakshmi,
or Mahasaraswati ;

924

459 Suspense and Apocalypse

but her sacredness is expendable,
she is property for sale, •
a pretty piece for gambling at the board,
a ready cake to swallow!

‘Puissance’ her name, and ‘puissance’ her birthright;

were it not for her puissance
Woman couldn’t be the Mother of the race,
the fosterer of mankind.

Yet by force of custom she’s diminished
being caged in gold, curtained
by silk that’s stronger than steel, and branded
as the temptress fair or foul.

It was the blight original shackling
mankind, for although nothing
forgetting, Man will learn nothing either
from the c}vles of living.

1 see in the dim bccKoning vistas
the race preying on itself,
reciprocal violence of thought, speech,
desire, feeling r.nd action.

Alike the means of attaining power
and its ruthless exercise
corrupt the soul at first, and presently
the concentric sheaths entire.

And killer Tyranny flaunts a grimmer
dimension when it erupts
from fevered feminine psyches, as if
milk itself has turned poison.

0 Sita, there’s but the thinnest divide
between the extremities,
for when one shies away from Truth, the jaws
of the Abyss open wide.

Beauty, love and the creator spirit
of motherly compassion
can turn into foulness, hate or Kali’s
Dance with a garland of skulls.

0 all suffering Sita, 1 but see
mother, sister, child in you ;

1 think I glimpse behind the wronged woman
the sole saviour Madonna.

460 Sitayana

Let this age waste itself out as it likes,
let the Dark Ages to come
enact their sundry self-wrought ironies
of ambition, pride, defeat.

935

But Sita, your Yoga of Sufferance,
your containment of Power
in the face of Evil Unlimited,
must yet redeem the future.

936

Ah, looking desperately for the stars
beyond the confounding clouds,

1 can but see human ingenuity
in ugly adventurings.

937

‘God, God,’ mumbles foolish and fragile Man,
but gnawed by the wonji within,
he would if he could play the usurper
and run the Earth on his own!

938

1 shudder to see the developing
pageantry of prideful Man,
mindless and ceaselessly exploitative
with environing Nature:

939

all things are legitimate in his eyes,
and he must explore the veiled
mysteries, energies and the knotted
formulas of life and'death.

940

Polyfoliate life is so ordained
by the supreme Creatrix
that a basic balance prevails, albeit
forms, colours, smells, tastes vary.

941

Sap of roots or juice of plants or leaves’ smell
can initiate reactions
that correct erupting imbalances
and restore the harmony.

942

Herbs are a million, and there’s not a blade
in the fipra around us
but has its unfailing efficacy,
its therapeutic value.

943

Nature with its limitless resources,
expertise and artistry
both permits a thousand miscarriages
and effects the needed cures.

944

46 1 Suspense and Apocalypse

But Sita, I tremble at what I see
in the abysm of Time,
the future with its wide ravenpus jaws
and hideous nut-cracker teeth.

945

1 see cunning, greedy and ruthless Man,
revengeful and rapacious,
go all out against Prakriti, scornful
of the soul’s imperatives.

946

He would fain wrest the ultimate secrets
of birth and balance and health,
dissect the visible Mother herself
and squeeze out the final groans.

947

Plugging or unplugging his contraptions,
playing his incendiary

game of edgemanship to gain the whole world,
he gambles it all away.

948

He packs 'mo petty cylinder space
or a pumpkin-siz( d toy-box
the raging rbaring suffocating airs
that vaporise a city.

949

Not wars, nor eanhquakes, nor pestilences,
nor volcanic eruptions,
but brain-born lunacies of contrivance
may cry Finis to the Earth!

950

And mark further: this mad rape of Nature,
this forceful dislocation
of the delicate web of mysteries,
the stabilising forces.

951

this shattering of the old harmony
between Nature the Mother
and her hapless progeny generates
total fratricidal strife.

952

releases the long secreted lava,
the lethal malignancie. ,
the rumbustious and ruinous sequences
of attack and reprisal.

953

Who kills or commits an atrocity
often excapes punishment,
and the injured in their screech of frenzy
turn against the innocent.

954

462 Sitayana

A wicked logic of association
upholds the cheap transference
of guilt from father to son or the clan
or the tribe or the nation. 955

The human oft turns doabolical
o'erreaching the dizzy heights
of the Asuric, the stark bestial

or sheerly anti-divine. 956

And dazzled by the snap success, the splash
of glory and the strange lure,
of charisma, a whole world’s obeisance
kow-tows to the Asura. 957

But adulation fuels arrogance,
and in the competing craze
for idolatry, a random false jerk

shows the Hero’s feet of clay. 958

And then a miscellany of idlers
or a mob of malcontents
may seize the lethal moment and fan out
their undisciplined marches. 959

In the ensuing mad conflagration,
with the flames leaping, clawing,
raising clouds of smoke to blot out the sky,

the roofs crack and crash below. 960

Roving clusters of alienated youths
with a perpetual howl
on their faces canter into the fray
and caper about madly. 961

And there’s promiscuous loot and arson,
the half-demented thugs howl
and scream and terrorise women, children,
and the aged and the meek. 962

What’s the nexus between the happenings,
the violence and the waste,
the uncontrolled fury of the onslaught
and tally of destruction? 963

Only the blatancy of illogic
and the cynic negation
of humanity seem to promulgate
this cremation devil-dance!

964

463 Suspense and Apocalypse

Trials and tribulations are many,

O Maithili, for we’re dogged
by the unpredictable, and must walk
warily and wait on hope.

Once as I felt entrapped in the Dark Night
of the Soul and lay resigned
to my fate, dazzlingly I was vouchsafed
a vision splendid and rare.

’Twas the stairway of the worlds, and between
the Dark below and the Light
above, the steps of descent seemed the same
as the steep rungs of ascent

It but called for a firm decisive twist
in direction, and the Dark
and Death were left behind, and Light and Life
streamed down in torrents of Love.

And I sav' not aggression but love,
not seizure but Mjrrender,
held the ke;^ to communion with Nature
and the sovereignty within.

But Sita, I’ve reao the apocalypse
and seen you as the Mother,
the Grace that can annul all excrescence
and ordain the last breakthrough.

And when self-driven by his ambition
Man lands himself on the brink,
then will your Grace, O Mother, intervene
and effect the retrieval.”

Hearkening to Trijata’s impassioned
recital of a future
of such distorted physiognomy,

Sita hardly understood,

for the intolerable interim
and the suspense and vigil
were weighing 'heavily upon her soul
and exhausting her reserves.

But she had also registered the drift
of Trijata’s projections,
the revolt against Nature the Mother
and Man’s purblind self-slaughter.

464 Sitayana

Meeting her loving and reverent gaze
Sita smiled as she answered;

“These are feverish fancies, Trijata,
and spring out of the present. 975

And 1 must plead stranger to the Power
and the Grace you see in me:

I only want this grim suspense to end
and see Raghava again.’’ 976

And even as she let her meaning sink
into the inner silence

where soul communes with soul, the two were jerked
out of the reigning stillness. 977

The battlefield was hotting up once more,
and the reverberations

with their charge of sound and fury impinged
on Sita and Trijata.

978

Canto 55 : Ravana's End

Maithili wore a sudden startled look,
and as if stung Trijata
flared up, her eyes glowing like coals of fire,
her body a swaying leaf. 979

“1 see the red glow of the holocaust
redder than the rising Sun,”

CT’-id Trijata in infectious distress;

“more oblations in the fire! 980

Ravana has now combed out of the homes
the residual recruits

and rushed them to the front to give battle,
and kill — or get sacrificed. 981

I see hccti'.. fighting and hear the shouts,
and Rama’s Gandharva shafts
cause the confusion of countless Ramas
mowing the Rakshasas down. 982

And Raghava is ucadly though unseen,
like a hurricane that sweeps
over the forest uprooting the trees
and leaving it a shambles. 983

1 now hear the strains of lamentation
in Lanka’s homes and mainstreets,

1 hear the bereaved raising their voices
against the accursed King: 984

‘’Twas wrong to lust after another’s wife,
and Sita is Ravana’s
nemesis for all past sins, and Rama
is Rudra the Destroyer. 985

The King did wrong to spurn Vibhishana,
and now there’s dole in Lanka . . .’

I see and hear the breast-beatings and cries
of the Rakshasa women.” 986

After a pause, Trijata continued:

“1 see the terror-striking
Ravana at the head of his army,
determined to Do or Die.

987

466 Sitayana

With him Virupaksha, Mahaparsva
and the remnant warriors
driven by compulsive fate and greeted
by unbecoming portents.

988

The risen Sun looks pale, the horses trip,
the vultures circle above,
the jackals howl, the owls screech, Ravana’s
left eye throbs, his right arm shakes.

989

In a conflict marked by vicissitudes

I see a vast commotion
but no clarity: strike and counter-strike,
and darts meeting rocks and trees!

990

There, there, Sugriva slays Virupaksha,
and intrepid Angada
lays low Mahaparsva, and Ravana
fumes and resolves on revenge.

991

There I see the Warrior-King approach
the royal Brothers at last,
as menacing as the serpent Rahu
shadowing the Sun and Moon.

992

I feel dazed by the monumental clash
of Ravana with Rama,
aye mighty opposites, verily like

Yama ranged against Rudra.

993

Ravana s asura warhead is met
by Rama’s Agni-charged one,
and likewise the Maya-missile is cut
by the fell Gandharva-dart.

994

Oh I see my Father slay his brother

Ravana’s horses; I see

Lakshmana face Ravana’s vengeful wrath,
and I see Saumitri’s faP . . .

995

Leaving his brother to the Vanaras’
care, Rama now fully roused
releases lethal darts at Ravana
who flees the field in panic.

996

My eyes grow dim, I see Rama weeping
by prostrate Lakshmana’s side:
but all’s not lost, for Hanuman has brought
the hill of rare healing herbs.

997

467 Ravanas End

Sushena crushes the Sanfivini
and the other wonder-herbs,
and a sniff cures Saumitri ol«his wounds
and he bounces back to health. 998

And Ravana has now returned refreshed:

the fight is resumed, and his
serpent-dart is cut by the eagle-shaft,
and grim uncertainty reigns. 999

Ravana’s killer-spear, charged with thunder,
is turned back by Raghava’s
infallible javelin, and his fell darts
overwhelm the Rakshasa. 1000

And 1 hear Rama’s words of impeachment:

‘You’re not Hero or Fighter;
only coward-thief of another’s wife’

Now's your time of chastisement!’

Then, wiih a redoubled fury of speed,

Rama’s warheads make their hits,
and when Ravana grows dizzy, Suta
pulls back the King’s chariot.

But as Ravana t sents the retreat,

Suta drives back to the front,
and ready for battle, the Rakshasa
sees Rama poised for the fray.

But oh this blaze of advancing glory:

Sage Agastya approaches
pensive Rama, and now initiates him
into the Heart of the Sun:

‘Rama my child! 1 give you the solvent
of evil and anxiety,
the supreme key to victory in war

over all your enemies. 1005

Make obeisance to the world’s Lord, the Sun ;

infinite his wealth o.' rays ;
he’s the radiant heart of the universe,
and he’s Father of the Day. 1006

He’s the bestower of beneficence,
he’s the doom of everything,
and he's the resurrection of all things,
he’s the great llluminant’

1001

1002

1003

1004

1007

468 Sitayana

He’s light at the core of the golden-hued
universe ; the cooling strength
and the burning rage at the heart of all ;
the source of phosphorescence.

1008

He’s Lord of the Sky, splitter of darkness,
mother of downpour of rains ;
master of Rig-Sama-Yajur Vedas;
the Bard of all the Sastras.

1009

While the world’s living creatures are asleep,
he doesn’t fail to keep awake
as the pervasive Light of everything,
the supreme indwelling Soul.

1010

He’s alone the Priest of the Sacrifice ;

he’s also the Destroyer
of the fruits of the Sacrifice; and he’s
subject and object in one.

1011

With a shining singleness of purpose,

0 Rama, meditate on
the Sun who is the God of all the gods,
the Ruler of all the worlds.

1012

Strong-handed Rama' this very instant
you will destroy Ravana’’

Having said these words, Rishi Agastya
hurries back the way he came.

1013

Feeling fulfilled and carefree on receipt
of the ambrosial secret,

Rama of the great effulgence, his mind
becalmed, communes with the Sun.

1014

The Sun-God too, backgrounded by the stars,
views Rama with love and joy,
and exhorts him ‘Hurry up!’ — for the hour
of reckoning has arrived.

1015

With a flourish it begins, the battle
of the rival chariots :
while Suta leads Ravana's, Matali --
loaned by Indra — steers Rama’s.

1016

The army on either side, and Devas
and Asuras from above:
all watch intentl> the struggle with its
cosmic ramifications.

1017

469 Ravana 's End

Yet once more, the opposing portents flash
presaging coming events: ^
defeat and destruction for Ravana,
and victory for Rama. 1018

Maithili, this is more than 1 can stand,
for at the war theatre

the earth seems to shake like a rolling ball,
and all the elements clash. 1019

What’s this: are the worlds is dissolution?

No, no, Sita, my senses
fail, my mind’s in a haze of confusion,

I can neither see nor hear.” 1020

Like one almost bewitched, Sita had been
following the battle-scenes
as uncannily seen and projected

by clairvoyant Trijata. 1021

Between the din 'ind fury at the front
and the quiet of the Grove,

Trijata was the psychic medium

linking the ex^C'»llties. 1022

While she reported — and almost re-lived
what she saw and heard, Sita
ranged over the whole gamut of heaven
and hell, and the realm between. 1023

Now Trijata had lapsed into a trance,
and as the minutes flew past,

Maithili was a prey to anxiety

and was clawed by impatience. 1024

They were both unexcelled fighters she kne"^
but Ravana might descend
tef strategems, deceit and sorcery —
and would Rama hold his own? 1025

The great Sun’s magisterial progress
in the sky was being matched,
she hoped, by Rama’s clear ascendancy
o’er the desperate Titan. 1026

There were certain unique phenomena :

the Sun, the Sky, the Ocean ;
what could they be compared with, Sita asked,
except the Sun, Sky, Ocean?

1027

470 Sitayana

So too, perhaps, Maithili told herself,
the Rama-Ravana war,
as the clash was then unfolding itself,
must transcend all parallels.

A terrible clanging sound, with its deep
reverberations, awoke
Trijata from her swoon of consciousness,
and she found her voice again :

'‘Oh Sita, this dust-raising, eye-blinding,
war of total attrition :
the lion-hearted fighters raise whirlwinds,
and vultures hover above.

The destined opposites face each oth^r
like Ignorance and Knowledge,

Evil and Good, adharma and dharma,
the serpent and the eagle.

Or even like the proverbial mammoths
mighty and formidable
all ready for a definitive clash
of wills, limbs and momentums.

Ravana aims at Rama’s flag, misses
the target, and in reply
Raghava’s unerring missile knocks down
the mighty Rakshasa'-s flag.

With a heightened tempo of ruthlessness
the dread Prince of Ayodhya
and the desperate Ruler of Lanka
exchange hits and counter-hits.

The resounding crash, Sita, didn’t you hear
Slashed by Raghava’s sharp dart,
see Ravana’s head with its ear-pendants
fall on the embattled ground'

But wonder of wonders: another head
springs np, and that’s whipped off too -
and anothe/, another — the sprouting
and the slash, and on and on . . .

Is it illusion? Supernatural
intrusion? murnho jumbo?

Head after head, and exactly alike,
springs up — is cut off — and falls!

471 Ravanas End

As though all future hangs on the issue
of the struggle in progress,
the guardians of the sky ancl all the worlds
seem racked with uncertainty. 1038

Anxious and apprehensive, Matali
the seasoned charioteer
advises Rama to end the impasse
by using the Brahma-shaft. 1039

With a decisive gesture of his head
Rama takes from his quiver
ilie missile Sage Agastya had given,

the weapon infallible. 1040

The sum of elemental energies,
invisible potencies -
1 see cataclysmic conflagrations

held in its atomic space 1041

alas Sita, 1 see la^ far beyond
this current envenomed lime,
and Tm frightened, and 1 can understand

Raghava’s he^^Uation. 1042

In future time, should any other than
the Divine in human garb
get hold of such primordial power,

woe unto our wounded Earth! 1043

But faced by Ravana's attritional
repetitive act, Rama
sees the wisdom of MatalTs advice
and decides to use the shaft. 1044

In his grip, the Brahma-warhead is fierce
and beautiful and baneful,
a. knot of serpents, poisonous, deadly,
a kill-power infinite’ 1045

Radiant like the Sun, ’t emits fumes
from hell, no airs from heaven ;
its packaged light and heat are but baletul

fire and smoke and instant death. 1046

I see Rama release the fateful dart ;

it is now heyond recall:
it speeds with the wild wind's velocity
and pierces Ravana's heart.

1047

472 Silayana

And from the Rakshasa King’s inert hand
his bow and arrow fall down,
and his massive body, now tenantless,
lies spread out on the bare ground. 1048

That huge and formidable container
of occult Asuric force,
that vicious accumulated credit

of long spells of tapasya, 1049

that preposterous ego-explosion
of mindless Rakshasa might,
that heartless hedonist of the senses
with a body of granite: 1050

when at last, Rama’s shaft found its target,
the occult spirit withdrew,
quenched was that dynamo of negation,
and its power petered out. 1051

It IS over. Sita, the sacrifice;

the deceitful King is dead ;
and the shaft, with blood dripping still, flies back
to rest in Rama’s quiver. 1052

1 scent the sense of relief and the leap
of joy in Sugriva’s ranks,
and the chill of final defeat driving
the losers back to Lanka. 1 053

It’s as 1 dreamt that fateful morning when
Ravana menaced you here;
and Sita, this katharsis has to be,
all the terror and pity.” 1054

Sita remembered alt, understood all,
and her joy was almost tinged
with sadness, and she embraced Trijata
in a rush of gratitude.

1055

book: stk:

Canto 56: War and Peace

The noise of battle rumbled no longer,
and the pulse of peace was heard
once more in Lanka's homes, bylanes, mainstreets
and the wide spaces beyond.

Peace, peace, the peace of the grave in Lanka ;

and peace at what cost, wondered
Sita in her stance of stillness; peace, peace-
but why this late holocaust?

Ravana dead and fallen on the earth,
the self-inflated titan

answering with his pampered body’s death
his ego’s foul transgressions'

Her own agonies sprawled over a year
seemed a thing of no account
weighed against the sum of feminine tears
flooding Lanka’s m urning homes.

Her heart went out to the tens of thousands
of mothers, sisters, daughters,
and most of all, the wretched wives now left
to stew in their misery.

She viewed from a distance the hesitant
movements of the wardresses,
with their cocky aggressive air all gone,
and now furtive and frightened.

"Oh the whirligig of Time!” mused Sila,

"the teasing alternations,
the cycle of foul and fair, the tally
of rebuffs and revenges!

She' could hardly fail to recall the face
of Mandodari the Queen
whose heart of compassion seemed to exceed
her adhesion to her Lord '

Sita thought of the bevy of consorts,
the dazzling train of beauties
dutifully following Ravana
when he raided her presence.

476 Sitayana

Hadn’t she seen through all that blinding display
and show of gaiety, and found
a deep concern, a sense of shame and hurt,
and a tragic helplessness?

10

When homicidal Ravana, driven
by foiled lust and sudden rage,
made that insane movement as if he could
attack and kill her indeed.

11

hadn’t the seductive Dhanyamalini,
on a peremptory nod
from Mandodari, lured the King away
with the splash of her own charm?

12

Maithili’s heart warmed up in gratitude,
and there surged an infinite
sadness at the thought of the void reigning
in the hearts of the consorts.

13

And now that stab of remembrance again!

After Ravana had gone,
the wardresses had teased and taunted and
threatened her with instant death.

14

She had then clutched the Simsupa branch, felt
grim desolation’s taste, and
desperately thought of suicide, and
driven herself to the brink.

15

But alas! before all changed suddenly
with the crowding good omens
and Trijata’s visions, Sita had cursed

Lanka’s homesteads with dolour.

16

No, no, Sita quickly assured herself;

not her impulsive cursing
but Ravana’s sustained evil-doing
engineered Lanka’s defeat.

17

The iron wheels of the Law of Karma
ground slowly but ruthlessly,
and purblii d Ravana had trapped himself
in his own self-deceptions.

18

And yet, Sita asked herself, was it fair
the sins of fathers should be
visited on their children, and of Kings
on the blameless citizens?

19

477 War and Peace

The complex of Karma and consequence
seemed riddled with the unknown
imponderables that were too many
and involved too long a span.

Somebody’s sinful act of long ago,
some vicious twist of the mind,
some infection of the glassy essence
the soul, some atomic flaw :

and once the much delayed reckoning starts,
how fast the chain-reaction,
how promiscuous the devastation,
how messed up the accounting!

The world was doubtless built on a logic
of facts and transcendences,
and without a deep causal equation
the whole symphony must crack.

But the huni.'in niiiul, the human senses,
operate but in shackles,
and the near seems to annul the distant,
and the worse seems the better.

Maithih called to muid her dear mother
the gentle Sunayana

warning her against summary judgements
in terms of evil and good.

We see a little patch in some disturbed
moment m the flux of lime,
and hasten to confer autonomy
on a local distortion.

Twas no use, Sita concluded, looking
for the payment of a sin,
for fiothing is, in fact, isolable
and all is lost in the mists.

For.almost a year, Ravana had loomed
in her besieged consciousness
as a sinister engine of evil,
a termless malignancy.

In his pursuit of power for preyas
and total security,

he had let himself be trapped by his pride,
vanity and self-deceit.

478 Sitayana

But now that he lay dead on the bare earth
pierced by Rama’s avenging
irresistible dart, her resentment
and revulsion were ended,

30

and from her mother-heart of compassion
restorative vibrations

went forth to assuage the sharp pain of all
the bereaved ones in Lanka.

31

And she marvelled at Trijata’s humped pose
of vast immobility;

what was she thinking after these last hours
of passion and prophecy?

32

The holocaust before Lanka City,
the cauldrons of suffering
that the once happy homes had now become,
the plight of Vibhishana !

33

The easy slothful way invites at once,
the primrose path of preyas ;
but it’s the steep and thorny ascent leads
to the summits of sreyas.

34

Vibhishana made the difficult choice
and dared to go his own way,
face all opprobrium and abandon

King and country and kindred.

35

For Sarama, Anala, Trijata,
the interim was a rack :
they were on Raghava’s side, and they lived
amidst his sworn enemies.

36

In this grim predicament, flesh and blood
were riven within, they found
victory in defeat, the supreme Yea
in the immediate Nay.

37

The higher call once heard must be heeded,
and not all the hucksterings
of the market-place of calculation
can silence the soul’s summons.

38

This was how, Sita reminded herself,

Raghava heroically
opted for an exil^f’s life, rejecting
the trappings of royalty.

39

479 fVar and Peace

And when of her own will for her own good
she had trailed behind her Lord,
the rarer action had been Saumitri’s,
and darling Urmila’s too!

While her surface consciousness was thus rife
with criss-crossing thought-currents,
her deeper self in the trance of waiting
thirsted for Rama’s coming.

The conquest of Ravana accomplished,
battle-scarred though he might be,
wouldn’t Rama cast all considerations
aside and rush to meet her?

As the dreary minutes passed, the eerie
stillness deepened yet further,
and Sita — her Witness Self uninvolved -
could watch her thoughts come and go.

If only that Aony silence would end!

and sphinx-like Trijata speak!
or Sarama or Anala return !
or Rama himself perhaps . .

Canto 57 : Mandodari’s Lament

There was the bustle of advancing steps,
and Maithili felt keyed up
in anticipation, and Trijata

opened her dolorous eyes. 45

Anala's face showed signs of strain as she
turned first with a meaningful

look to Trijata, then sat down before 46

Sita, and spoke evenly;

“Death has made his assignation at last
with the mighty Rakshasa,
for Rama's infallible Brahma-dart
has ended Ravana’s life. 47

While the rival armies predictably
responded with shouts of joy
or poignant cries, Vibhishana broke down
rushing to his brother’s side; 48

‘Alas my King and valiant Brother'

What I feared has become true’
the wrong turn once taken, you persisted
in your doomed suicidal course. 49

And like you, the others too— Prahasta,

Indrajit, Makaraksha —
were blinded by pride and the delusion
of invincibility. 50

The doughty warrior, the mighty tree,
the adept m Vedic chants,
the admired exemplar of admirers,
brought low by the Prince of Men’’ 51

Marking my Father’s visible distress
and conflict of emotions,

Rama said 'soothingly ; ‘No room for tears,
for he died a warrior. 52

In the heat and dust of battle, defeat
and victory arc alike
on the cards; what matters is the mettle,
the courage to do or die.

53

481 MandodarVs Lament

Supreme among fighters, Ravana has
covered himself with glory^
for he showed no signs of fear till the last,
and he died a hero still. 54

Ravana’s wrongs are annulled in his death,
and all enmities must cease ;
it’s now proper, Vibhishana, you should
attend to his obsequies.’ 55

Meantime poured out of Lanka’s central gate
the bereaved Mandodari,
her companions in distress, and other
sorrow-striken Rakshasis. 56

It was a sight most piteous to behold
with the severed ones seeking
their respective spouses and giving vent

to their wild lamentations. 57

And Ravana’s Qut:en hastened to his side
as he lay mountain-massive, —
a resplendent heap of collyrium, —
and wept unreser^ odly : 58

‘O mightiest of heroes, if only
you had heeded the advice
of Vibhishana and returned Sita,

this disaster needn’t have been. 59

And so recently when, after the first
encounter Rama gave you
a reprieve letting you retire and rest
and re-think your ends and means, 60

you were vouchsafed that nightmare dream-sequence,
both Sulochana and 1

made our fervent and pressing pleas for peace

for Lanka’s sake and your own, 61

•

you wouldn’t listen, my Lord, you persisted
on the sure road to ruin,
and so many have now been abandoned

to the night of misery. 62

But no use repining, lover and Lord,
it’s the handiwork of fate ;

we’re but wretched thistledowns caught and crushed
by remoreless destiny!’

63

482 Sitayana

For a time Mandodari sat apart
imaging desolation
as she viewed the majestic Ravana
lying prone and tenantless. 64

It was the turn of the other consorts,
the bereaved and the widowed,
to give free vent to their suppressed feelings
and swell the lamentation. 65

When exhausted they became dumb with grief,

Mandodari wailed again ;

The unconquerable is now laid low
by a woodland wanderer! 66

When he destroyed Khara’s fourteen thousand,

I thought he was more than Man ;
when his envoy laid waste our Asoka,
my suspicions were confirmed ; 67

and when his mere monkeys made the causeway
across the sea, I was sure
Raghava was the primordial Power
come in the form of a man. 68

Mastering your senses through askesis
you were the Lord of the worlds,
but surrendering to your lust, you have

let Namesis overtake you ’ 69

Resorting to fraud, magic and disguise
you brought the chaste Sita here -
alas, you lie dead now, burnt by the fire

of a pure wife’s suffering. 70

Your mindless obsession with Maithili
has dragged you to dreaded death;
and where am 1 — Ravana’s Queen, Maya's

daughter, Indrajit’s mother? 71

Goodbye to my pride and my happiness !

When mv brave Indrajit fell
I had you Siill, but now nothing is left

but dust and ashes and tears. 72

See, see these charmers of your gynaeccum
weep unveiled around your corse:
how many of them had you not wrested
from their fathers or husbands?

73

48 3 Mandodari \s Lament

And the worst of transgressions was stealing
the defenceless Maithili : •

never a coward soul, yet you seized her
doubling deceipt with disguise. 74

Could you not have hearkened to the frank words
of the wise Vibhishana,
and Maricha, Malayavan, and my

father and your own mother! 75

I cannot believe, O lord of Lanka,
that your race is run indeed :
and while 1 see the crash of all my hopes,
my heart grinds not to a halt!’ 76

Thus ihe angelic and distracted Queen,
the flame-like Mandodari ;

and now she swooned drained of all strength, and shone

like light-Mig among the clouds. 77

Then niy Father, advised by Rama,
overcame his reluctance
and performed with all due solemnity

the late King’'' juneral rites. 78

The ritual appropriate to Kings
was followed, and my Father
lit the pyre, and bathed, and made oblations,

and bowed to the departed. 79

The inconsolable Mandodari
and the other tearful ones,
on Vibhishana’s gentle suggestion,

went back sadly to Lanka.” 80

When Anala was thus recapturirrg
the melting predicament
of Mandodari’s passion and probings,

wisdom and womanliness, 81

•

Maithili’s bruised heart oeat in response,
and once more she remembered
the spontaneous gesture in Asoka

that saved her honour and life. 82

As her mind lingered on the fickleness
of fortune, the vagaries
of power, Sita felt inclined to take
a wide panoramic view.

83

484 Sitayana

The local irritants seemed to coalesce
into a symphonic whole,
but then the pressures of the passing hour
could cloud the sweeping vision ! 84

With an effort Sita stilled these musings,
and returning Trijata’s
affectionate gaze, grew more attentive,
and followed Anala’s speech : 85

“And so, Sita, after Mandodari
and the gynaeceum inmates,
now half-reconciled to their bereavement,
had returned to the city, 86

Rama asked Saumitri to take prompt steps
to have Vibhishana crowned
as Lanka's new lawful King, invested
with his late Brother’s powers. 87

Presently the age-old ceremony
of coronation took place
in Lanka, though with muted rejoicings
and in quite subdued colours. 88

For the doleful citizens of Lanka
this is a fresh beginning,
and the process of new life thus switched on,
the old wounds will heal anon. 89

But my father the King went back at once
to the camp outside Lanka
to rejoin Rama and look to his needs;
and I’ve rushed here to report.”

90

Canto 58 : Rejection of Sita

Sita slowly registered the impact
of Anala’s recital,

yet the delay in reunion pained her,
for the moments seemed to crawl. 91

Just then, breaking the silence and slow time,
magnificent Hanuman,
radiant with happiness, came in haste
and made obeisance to her. 92

Then, rising, he stood respectful, silent;

she looked transfigured with joy ;
now, as coming fiom her Lord, this message
of sheer ambrosial import: 9.3

“Devi! P. 1 I 1 .;, sends word that all is well;

Ravana is dead. Lanka
now ruled by Vibhishana is no more
your stifling prison, but home. 94

All this has become possible because
of Lakshmana, Sugriva
and his Vanaras, and Vibhishana:
gone is the load of your giief.” 95

This shower of rejuvenating rain
gave her a new lease of life
and buoyed up by her feel of fulfilment
Sita knew not what to say. 96

Soon, however, she recovered her poise
and said sweetly: “O bringer
of good news, how can 1 thank you enough,
for poor is all the world's wealth!” 97

Hanuman said: “These simple words of yours
Tar exceed whole heaps of gems;
and Rama’s victory gives me more joy
than all heaven’s sovereignty.” 98

Sita quickly responded: “Hanuman,
conjunction of all virtues!

You are brave in action and wise in speech,
you’re virtue, knowledge, prowess.”

99

486 Sitayana

Gratified as well as stimulated,

Maruti said suddenly;

“Let me kill the ogresses, Vaidehi,
who teirorised you before.”

Sita answered: “It’s not wise to give way
to anger ; these wardresses
but obeyed their Master, and Ravana
has gone the way of all flesh.

Nay more: even evil isn’t to be met
by evil, — only by good;
as for these guilty ones, is there any
who has never done a wrong?”

Praising her charity, Hanuman asked
for her message to Rama ;
she said succinctly, “I have no wish but
to see my husband again.”

“You will see him indeed,” said Hanuman
with alacrity ; “You’ll see
the moon-splendoured Rama and Saumitri
And he sped back to the camp.

The late afternoon stillness of the next
few minutes sustained a stab
when Trijata, inscrutable so long,
gave out a sepulchral moan.

It was unearthly, and seemed to be wrung
from the soul’s deep recesses,
trailing intimations of suffering
of a phenomenal cast.

Anala was shaken within, and rushed
to her ailing sister’s side,
for the cry was like that of a song-bird
struck by an envenomed shaft.

As if collecting herself, Trijata
wearily exclaimed; “Let be-
it may be nothing, but 1 scent something ;
may the Lord protect us all!”

In sharp reaction, a passing tremor
shook frail Maithili as well ;
she swayed visiblv, she turned yet paler,
and she faltered m her speech;

487 Rejection of Sita

“Trijata, Anala, what does it mean?

My mind misgives, my right eye
throbs, my right arm twitches, birds fly above,
and lack-lustre is the Sun

Why, oh why doesn’t Rama come to claim me,
clasp me, carry me away?

Are these miserable months of waiting
and languishing not enough?”

Anala looked helpless and woebegone,
and Trijata stared and stared,
made an effort to speak, then changed her mind,
and cast a motherly look.

It was like a week or month of waiting,
and the nearby silent tarn
seemed agitated when even a leaf
fell or a lone sparrow flew.

Now on^;. n.v-re a brilliant flash at the gate,
and flourish, an ! the stately
tread of advancing steps - Vibhishana
in purple stood before her.

And Sarama, now Queen but little changed,
advanced towards Maithili,
and taking her hands with love and longing,
spoke on behalf of the King;

“Long-suffering Sita, the time has come
for reunion with Rama,
and I’ll now take you to the gynaeceum,
and bathe, clothe and perfume you :

and when you are thus renewed and reiieshcd.

you’ll go in a palanquin
followed by us all to meet Raghava

• who is eager to see you.”

Like a doe startled out of its retreat,

* the disturbed Janaki .>aid :

‘‘Let me see my dear Lord just as 1 am,

O King; I’ll bathe afterward.”

Nonplussed Vibhishana made obeisance
and spoke deferentially ;

“Devi! it would be better to abide
by your husband’s instructions.”

488 Sitayana

While anxious Anala gazed at Sita
with a reassuring look,

Trijala — in the grip of her passion
once more — spoke witheringly:

“Father, father, what means this rigmarole
of bathing and perfuming?

As if Maithili, unkempt as she is,
isn't Grace and Glory supreme?

O my Father, my seeing inner eye
feels sore and apprehensive ;
and O Goddess, my daughter, my Sita,
may the Elements shield you!"

The words hardly left her mouth when she slumped
and fell in a heap before
her father the King, and a fit seized her
and she trembled like a leaf.

But Maithili, collecting herself, said:

“So be it. King; I’ll follow
the good Queen, and do what Rama desires.

Rise, Trijata, Tm going."

The words like a mantra coursed through her veins,
and Trijata opened wide
her deep eyes of concern and compassion,
and muttered, “Godspeed, my child!"

Sarama now took care 6f Maithili,
and bathed and clothed and groomed her,
aye, with dazzling raiment and jewellery,
and conveyed her to the camp.

As the palanquin, with its bright hangings,
was being carried, long rows
of viewers — Vanaras and Rakshasas —
lined the pathway on both sides.

Lest the curious or admiring gaze
of the serried spectators
should embarrass or inconvenience
Sita — or even Rama —

Vibhishana tried to clear the approach
by shoving them all aside,
but in a sudden upsurge of temper
Rama raged agamst the King:

489 Rejection of Sita

“Let them remain! What safeguards a woman?

Not the veil, nor the tower,
nor sentries, nor bodyguard, but alone
her soul’s strength, her sole armour!

Where’s the harm in a woman being seen
by people in the public?

The rule of propriety is determined
by the play of ci. cumstance.

It is said necessity knows no law;

this war was on her account,
and surely she may be seen by others;
and I’m here too, after all.”

And so Sita went to meet her husband
in the glare of public gaze,
and none, none could >^ithstand Rama’s temper ;
and shamed Sita shrank within.

Then, wal’..ii,. ap to him, she spoke the word
as ot old, 'Aryap.^tra ’’
that was rich with infinite suggestion ;
she could speak no more, and wept.

For sometime pa^^i, Rama’s mind, heart and soul
had been under a grim siege
of conflicting and chaotic feelings,
thoughts, passions, lacerations.

He was glad, angry, wild, miserable
by turns or at the same time,
and it was as though he had trapped himself
in an insurrection's coils.

The melting sight of Maiihili, standing
as though nude, vulnerable
and abandoned amid a curious
eftisortment of bystanders,

far from rousing his manliness and pride
a*nd protective sovereignty,
only made him seem callous and cruel,
or at best indifferent.

While for a mere instant, Raghava’s face
seen after such a long time—
lighted up her own into the splendour
of the radiant full Moon,

490 Sitayana

this was instantaneously extinguished
by the harsh neutrality
on his face changing fast into anger

and exploding through his words: 140

“I’ve killed Ravana in battle, thereby
avenging the injury
and insult he caused me by carrying
you away in my absence. 141

My achievement has been made possible
because of Hanuman’s flight
to Lanka, and the help I’ve received from
Sugriva, Vibhishana . . 142

The cold words of pride and prosaic statement,
the forbidding frown and stare,
the crude heavy tone of self-righteousness
made Sita all but crumble. 1 43

Unmindful or unconscious of the fact
the Vanaras and Titans,
two whole armies, were then looking aghast,

Rama went on with his speech : 1 44

“Not for your sake, woman, this war was fought ,

’twas to redeem my honour*
but I can’t take you back, for your sight hurts
as light pains a diseased eye. 145

When you had perforce to live in his place,

Ravana couldn’t have left you
undefiled, since you arc so beautiful
and hence so desirable. 146

All the glory of pristine womanhood,
all the grace of purity,
perfection, all the fire of the true wife,

all have taken leave of you. '^47

You’ve shown indeed you’re not of noble birth :

Janaka found you only
in a furrow of the Videhan earth
and reared you up as his child. 148

Deem yourself free to find a protector
in Bharata, Lakshmana,

Sugriva, Vibhishana or any
other, and do what you please.”

149

Canto 59 ; Ska’s Fire-Baptism

Rama’s words, like poisoned darts, pierced Sita
with pitiless aim and sting,
and this at the very time she needed
soothing and endearing speech.

As the mindless words made her writhe within,
her eyes streaming forth hot tears,

Rama’s face blazed like escalating fire
kindled by a rain of ghee.

She underwent intolerable pain
like a poor fluttering bird
whose deep wound is being wantonly probed
by an insensitive nail.

Yea, she a creeper trampled upon
by an elephant in rut,

and ’twas heartless indeed that he had raved
in the midst of so many.

Unendurable weie the agonies
unleashed by the verbal cuts
and stabbings, and the roots of her being
felt a sense of hurt and shame.

Then, reviving with a supreme effort,
wiping the tears from her face
and breaking the tense unearthly silence,
she found the apt words to say ■

“You are famed as the heroic hero,
yet you deploy the crudeness
of speech of one of the commonest kind
K) a female of his sort .

Aryaputra, — or what should I call you'^-
F’m other than what you think,
and you’re wrong to condemn all womankind
just because a few are flawed.

Is it fair to brand me faithless because
a villain seized me by force?

I was helpless, but my heart was still mine :
’twas wholly centered in you.

492 Sitayana

When your emissary, Maruti, came,
he observed my withered state,
my plight as a prisoner of sorrow,
my proximity to death.

On his return, didn’t he make fair report
of my vast tribulations?

Now this to me, this flint-hearted response!

My tapas has been in vain.

You boast that for the honour of your name
you waged this much-ado-war,
and choose to arraign me, your wedded wife,
before these warrior hosts.

Not as the Archer who split Shiva’s Bow
and won Vaidehi for wife
but as the yokel that cast out a Pearl
you’ll now live in history.

Our happy years together are nothing,
your green eye is everything!

Why, why didn’t you send word through Maruti
that you wouldn’t receive me back?

Then at least I could have ended my life
before the Envoy’s own eyes
and thereby spared you and your worthy friends
the exertions of this war.

They call you rightly Tiger among Men,
but hasn’t your hasty anger
blurred your vision and made you madly speak
of me as though I’m garbage.

Janaka found me, and I’m his daughter;

but remember, O Hero,
my immaculate advent was the gift
of the hallowed Earth-Mother.

Surely you’ve forgotton the sacrament
of our marriage years ago,
and the bliss of sanctified wedded life
in both city and forest.

And Aryaputra, at this grim moment
when I’m perched near the abyss,
it’s not my present shame and suffering
that I take to heart so much,

493 Sita \s Fire- Baptism

but rather the certainty that by this
one squeak of aberration
you will be held up to opprobrium
for all the ages to come.

Obscuring your countless acts of valour
and uncanny righteousness,
this cardinal and cruel rejection
of your lawful loyal wife

will in all future time set the pattern
of vulgar, selfish, prideful,
one-sided, pitiless desecration
of supportless womankind.

Denied by my husband, where can i go?

with this charge of falsity
mounted by green-eyed jealousy, how can
I live or ^^i.d for myself . .

She paused for a while to control her tears,
then turned to paled Saumitri:

‘‘Make a funeral pvre at once, my son:

I have no desir^ to live.”

Observing no hint of a change of heart
on the set face of Rama,
the miserable Lakshmana prepared
a cauldron of blazing fire.

Not a feeling eye in that vast concourse
but was blind with flowing tears;

Anala cried in distress, Sarama

screamed and fell down in a swoon.

And Trijata peered into the farthest
distance, saw fire and brimstone,
gave a wild and piteous howl of protest
and spoke bitter winged words:

“Is there none here to rush to the rescue
of abandoned innocence?

Must the world reap the wages of the sin
of driving the pure to die?”

When the echoes of the prophetic words
lost themselves in the stillness
more chilly than before, the terrible
drama enacted itself.

494 Sitavana

Wasting no time and with calm assurance
she circumambulated
her petrified Lord, walked up to the fire
and spoke her mind with joined palms:

“As nothing is hid from the God of Fire,
may he testify my Truth:
if Raghava has misjudged and wronged me,
may I be immune from harm.

If Tve never strayed in deed, thought or word
from my scriptures of Rama,
if the very Elements know my Faith,
may the Fire-God protect me.”

And calmly going round the altar-bla/e
in the poise of submission,
with an incandescent resoluteness
Sita stepped into the fire.

The dread sacrifice drew tears alike from
Vanaras and Rakshasas,

Lakshmana shuddered ; and even Rama
fell the touch of tears in things.

That moment torn out of time seemed timeless,
and as the leaping flames hid
the golden glory of Maithili’s form,

Time stood defiantly still.

Something was happening within the closed
universe of Raghava :
its smug stony security was pierced
by the crisp airs from Above.

As Rama, unable to bear the sight
so poignant and so ghastly,
closed his self-accusing eyes, his inner
eye burst open, and he SAW.

What was it but the beginningless One
singing the diapason
of the grand Affirmation of Sita’s
transcendental purity?

The great lord of life and death, the Fire-God,
approaching Wnh Maithili
by his side, seemed to admonish Rama
for his crime and his folly.

495 Sita ’s Fire- Baptism

Was the experienced knowledge and faith
of years to be cast aside ,
by a morbid clouded moment’s upsurge
of distrust and unreason? 189

With the radiance of a thousand Suns,
flame-pure Agni cleansed the mist
of misapprehension and misery,

and the sky cleared once again. 190

Behind Agni loomed the formidable,
ipimeasurable cosmic
Powers and Emanations, and now all
showered their Grace on Sita 191

In this condition of trance of waiting
and wise receptivity,

Rama had the convulsions of rebirth,
and he np with a start. 192

The splendid evening now revealed a scene
that seemed to have been transformed
by power of alchemic agencies,

for Life had ch^ .cd away Death. 193

Rama saw the blameless stainless Sita
rise out of the glowing fire,
her limbs and raiment wholly unimpaired,
and her grace more gracious still. 194

Like one awakened from sleep, he let slip
the darkened past as one drops
the memory of nightmares, and advanced

to take his God-given wife. 195

For Rama, as for the astonished throng
of Vanaras, Rakshasas,
and the invisible corps of heaven

raptly watching everything, 196

the* vision of Sita rising unscathed,
but all the more lesplendent
with the grace of goodness and holiness,

came like an Apocalypse. 197

Stepping out of the still effulgent flames
as from the Godavari
after a brief exhilarating plunge,
she saw her lord and husband.

198

496 Sitayana

and the serene clarity of the bliss
of the reunion now seemed
an ambrosial beatific vision
cancelling the morbid past.

199

Seizing her extended hand with a smile
that was clearly tinged with guilt
and perhaps also with a tacitly
shared esoteric secret,

2()0

Rama led her with a light springy air
to his camp, and stationed her
by his side as though the eternal Lord
and Spouse were manifest there.

201

The scene, thus miraculously sea-changed
from a desert of defeat
into a garden in gorgeous springtime,
caused general rejoicing.

202

The whole assembly, now brought back to life,
saw with reverence and love
the gracious Devi shining like the Sun
and spraying benevolence.

203

They could see that the terror and pity
of the brutal rejection
coalescing with the grim Ordeal by Fire
had somehow led to this joy.

204

The late inquisitorial questioning
gave place to wise acceptance,
and Vanara, Rakshasa, felt alike
greatened by the reunion.

205

Canto 60; Air Journey to Ayodhya

Now evening withdrew and night was around,
and Maithili had a word
with her Lord, and on his consenting joined
Sarama and her daughters. 206

Sita’s desire to see Mandodari
struck the humane Sarama
as both natural and necessary.

and she took matters in hand. 207

When she had changed to less splendorous clothes
reminiscent of the years
of her forest life, Sita was guided
to Mandodari’s chambers. 208

There was young Sulochana too, sad-eyed,
attired in melancholy

and grimly backgrounding the bereaved Queen
and the reigning tragedy. 209

Sita had heard of her from Trijata,
and an instantaneous glance
of recognition and profound accord
was exchanged between the two. 210

Sita now turned from one to another,
and carrying the burden
of the world’s accumulated sorrows,
she faced the elder at last. 21 1

The two exemplary incarnations
of the Blessed Feminine
as chaste wife and infinite sufferance
needed no words to converse. 212

Long they gazed at each other, the creepers
of affinity drew them
closer and closer till Mandodari
could bear it no more and cried : 213

“O Maithili, whom shall we blame but fate?

Why does it seem to give us
everything, and then take back everything;
please the eyes, yet break the heart?

214

498 Sitayana

1 had Maya for father, Ravana
for husband, and Indrajit
for son: and here I am, a rubbish heap —
only mourning becomes me !

And I’ve heard, Sita, poor injured Sita,
what a heartless reception
you had from righteous Raghava himself —
and I had deemed him divine!

Woman’s love — a mother’s, wife’s or sister’s,
a daughter’s, any woman’s —
by its own law fosters and sustains life,
but the Male always assails

with his pride, ambition, self-righteousness,
and the woman pays, hapless
mankind pays, the entire commonwealth pays ;
but woman pays most of all.”

She stopped rather o’ercome by emotion,
and Sita managed to say :

“There are Tatakas and Surpanakhas,
Mantharas and Kaikeyis:

the sinister complex of circumstance,
and free will and destiny,
although I’ve battered my head against it,

1 s thrown me back on my own.

Two months ago we met, Mandodari,
and you saved me then from death
at Ravana’s hands : how can I forget
your pure heart of compassion ^

As you and 1 see it, and others might
agree, this sanguinary

war needn’t have happened yet who can locate
where was the start of it all?

We look back and back, and view every twist
and turn n the intricate
web of causal relationships, until
we’re lost in the labyrinth.

Was Kaikeyi the sole initiator
of our shared tr hulations?

Was it Surpanakha? Was it myself,
my strange fancy for the deer?

499 Air Journey to Ayodhya

Or must we go back to the old scission
between Deva-Asura,

Indra-Rava;ia, and so get submerged
in the mists of confusion?

One word more, O bereaved Mandodari ;

when, rejected by Rama,

I plunged into the shining waves of fire,

I felt 'twas the end indeed.

Yet fire was cool to me, the tongues cf flame
seemed only to caress me,

I felt the soothing touch of a mother,
and lo! J saw my husband.

My mountain of misery was annulled
in a second, but 1 thought
of you, and sorrow welled up from the depths,
and 1 niusi see vou, I said.

Like Mother Earth with her wayward children,
woman’s heart is forbearance,
fortitude and com-'/df^ion: O wish me
godspeed as I to you.”

Her eyes misiy once more, Mandodari
said. “O my child, go in peace;
and 1 know the good Vibhishana will
give the healing touch to all.”

Then Sita walked up to Sulochana,
and the two exchanged wordless
messages of mutual forgiveness
and deeper understanding.

As the bereaved one, invaded by peace,
rose to embrace Maithili,
their eyes grew dim, and through the film of tears
they forged their souls’ communion.

Sita felt that, while nothing was changed, and
the pall o’er Lanka remained,
she could still scent a qualitative change
presaging a brighter day.

At Sarama’s mansion where Trijata
was anxiously awaiting
Sita’s coming, there was witnessed a scene
prophetic and disturbing.

500 Sitayana

While Anala looked relaxed and happy
that all was well, her sister
went into a trance once more, and she spoke
words whirling and wild at once :

“I see, I see vistas beyond beyond —

0 the abominations!

How’s it, in the struggle for existence,
woman has the worst of it?

In days of yore. I’ve heard, Jamadagni
decreed his wife Renuka’s
death, and Parashurama did the deed, —
for no fault of the lady!

And but a while ago I saw the scene

1 now see again : Sita,

taking a leap into the bouncing fire:
again, for no fault of hers!

And worse to come in the coming ages,
women as consumer goods,
ready victims of desire or assault,
burnings and deprivations!

I see and I don’t want to see, — I see
innocence auctioned away, —

1 see children schooled, in malignancy, —

I see countless betrayals.

Devi Sita, this threatening awesome
imbecility and death
must not be, this scuttling of happiness ;

Devi Sita, save us all!”

With a hug of immeasurable love
and commanding assurance,

Maithili put Trijata at her ease
and took leave of the sisters.

Then Sarama led her back, and Sita
joined Kama and told him all ;
and after the day’s fevered happenings,
the late night’s rest was welcome.

When early dawn rose o’er Lanka again,
Rama sought Vibhishana’s
leave to fly in the car to Ayodhya
with Sita and Saumitri.

50 1 A ir Journey to Ayodhya

The fourteen-year period of exile
was ending, and Bharata
would be awaiting his elder brother
at the pre-determined timfe.

The Pushpaka duly arrived dazzling
the eyes of the beholders ;
the high seats were of lapis lazuli,
and sweet music from the bells !

It was verily a flying mansion
made up of many chambers;
the floors were inlaid with silver and gold,
and the casements were of pearl.

When the Allies had assembled once more,
Rama praised their services
and asked Sugriva and Vibhishana
to get back to their Kingdoms.

But with viii" voice the Vanara heroes
and Vibhishana himself
begged to be allowed to go with Rama
and see his coronation.

Gratified by thcir frateinal feelings,

Rama said: ‘‘So be it then;
let’s all fly together to Ayodhya -
the air-car is big enough.”

Rama first stepped into the Pushpaka,
raised and seated on his lap
the embarrassed Sita, and Lakshmana
then followed and found a chair.

Now Sugriva and his Vanara hosts,
Vibhishana and his friends,
all found comfortable seats in the car
•which soon took off from Lanka.

From their chosen position of vantage,
•Kakutstha and Vaid'hi
commanded a magnificent air-view
and conversed intimately.

“There are things expected of us Princes,”
said Rama, “especially
those of us that claim descent from Raghu :
it could be a taxing role.

245

246

247

248

249

250

251

252

253

254

502 Sitayana

My heart knew you for a blemishless wife,
but the mind wove fantasies,
and 1 succumbed to the green-eyed monster —
what a foolish thing to do! 255

Had I rushed and seen you in Asoka,

1 would have met the raw truth ;
but I felt that, like Kishkindha before,

Lanka was out of bounds too. 256

And besides, though you might call this hindsight,
the fire-walking has shown all
that you’re indeed ecstatically free
from any taint of untruth.” 257

Sita intervened to say; “All is past,
and the gods have trimmed our ends;
let’s not reopen the wounds, — the future
now beckons, let’s be ready.”

By now the air-car was up in the sky
and was well set on its course,
and Rama showed the delighted Sita
the distinguishing landmarks :

“See Maithili fair Lanka from the air,
this city on Trikuta
the great handiwork of Visvakarma !

Yes, and there’s the battlefidd.

See, see there below, where Ravana met
his end, and mark the spots where
Indrajit was slain by Saumitri, and
Dhumraksha by Hanuman.

Do you see the bridgehead, and the long strip
across the mighty ocean :
that was the causeway the Vanaras built,
and ’twas there that we landed. 262

We now fly over the hallowed spot where
the great causeway commences :

’twas there Vibhishana heard me lay down
the Doctiine of Surrender. 263

It was that long stretch of sea, Maithili,
one hundred Yojanas long,
that intrepid Maruti leapt across
to bring news ot me to you.”

238

259

260

261

264

503 Air Journey to Ayodhya

As they neared Kishkindha, Sita desired
to meet Sugriva’s spouses,

Tara and Ruma, and take them also
in the car to Ayodhya. •

265

“As you wish,” said Rama, and Pushpaka
made an easy landing, and
the two Queens and the spouses of the chief

Vanaras boarded the car.

266

On the move once more, Rama showed Sita
the Rishyamukha mountain :

“Maithili, ’twas there 1 met Sugriva,
and made my compact with him.

267

Now come to view the Pampa lotus pool
and sainted Sabarfs place,
and there beyond is the grim stretch of land
where 1 destroyed Kabanda.

268

We are n<^Vv ^.ying over the gaunt trees
of the woods wh 'rc Jatayai
fought a bitter battle on your behalf
with the vengeful Ravana.

269

Janasthana next, and Panchavati
where we spent such happy days:
and the hermitages of Agastya,

Sutikshna, Sarabhanga.

270

Ah we're over the spot where Viradha,
the colossus, met his end,
and there's Atri’s Ashrama, where you met
the blessed Anasuya.

271

We're already over Chitrakuta,
and you’ll recall Bharata’s
coming, and his receiving my sandals:
land yonder, see Yamuna,

272

and on its banks, Rishi Bharadvaja’s
•hospitable hermitage
and there's Guha's Sringiberapura,
and there, far off, Ayodhya!”

273

As desired, the air-car made smooth landing
near the Rishi’s Ashrama,
and paying obeisance to the great sage

Rama asked for news of Home.

274

504 Sitayam

Bharadvaja answered: “Bharata lives
an ascetic’s life, and rules
Ayodhya with exemplary ardour,
and your sandals sustain him.

With my gift of vision, I have followed
the course of your wanderings,
the destruction of Khara and his corps,
the abduction of Sita,

your pact with Sugriva, Hanuman’s leap
across the sea to Lanka,
his finding of Sita in Asoka,
and his reporting to you :

Nala’s building the bridge across the sea,
the sanguinary battle,
the death of Ravana, and the crowning
of righteous Vibhishana.”

Before resuming his journey, Rama
sent Hanuman in advance
to meet Guha, then Bharata himself,
for marking his reactions.

Having ruled Ayodhya for fourteen years
and grown used to sovereignty,
the news of Rama’s return from exile
might disappoint Bharata.

Hanuman was to make'a recital
of the details of Rama’s
wanderings, the many vicissitudes,
and the final victory.

By a close study of his countenance,
Hanuman would be able
to read the workings of Bharata’s mind,
and tell Rama beforehand.

Maruti embarked on his delicate
errand at once, and having
met Guha, hastened to Bharata’s place
in hallowed Nandigrama.

The fourteen-year exile tumbling towards
its close, Bharata was keyed
with expectancy, and clad in deer-skin
he sat with his advisers:

505 Air Journey to Ayodhya

a princely paragon among hermits,
a master of self-control,
a wasted figure yet radiating
a majestic saintliness ! *

285

Drawing near with folded hands, Hanuman
gave all the auspicious news
about Rama, of the loss of Sita
and of the recovery ;

286

and of Rama’s coming with Maithili
and Saumitri, and allies
like Sugriva and Vibhishana, and
now they would soon be there.

287

The news came as a sharp shower of rain,
and Bharata felt o’ercome
for the nonce by the sheer excess of joy,
and hugged Hanuman with tears.

288

“Ah frierd' ' vri#^d the delighted Bharata,

“with patience ahd faith enough,
one may await the crown of fulfilment
however long the delay.”

289

Then Bharata, happy and excited,
closely questioned Maruti
about the unknown intervening years
since the Chitrakuta meet.

290

An adept in seasoned speech, Hanuman
gave a dramatic account
of the serried sequence of happenings —
the killing of Viradha,

291

the stay at Panchavati, the maiming
of lustful Surpanakha,
the destruction of Khara, Dushana,
and the supporting army :

292

the deceptive golden deer as decoy,
the seizure of Vaidehi
by Ravana, the gallant obstruction
by Jatayu and his death;

293

and so on, of Sita’s captivity
in Asoka, of Rama’s
grief, and his alliance with Sugriva
for their mutual advantage.

294

506 Sitayana

Hanuman spoke too of his own sojourn
to Lanka, and his return
with Maithili’s crest-jewel to Rama,
and the ensuing campaign.

“The victorious Rama is now back,”
the Vanara concluded ;

“tomorrow he’ll be here with Maithili,
Saumitri, and all the rest.’'

These intimations of coming events,
so instinct with auspicious
anticipations, made Bharata feel
transcendentally happy.

Promptly he asked Satrughna to prepare
for Rama’s royal welcome,
and forthwith all steps were taken to cool
the pathway to Ayodhya.

Banners were hoisted all along the road
from outpost Nandigrama
to the city, and the houses received
an appropriate face-lift.

When the night ended and a greater dawn
arose, the constellation
Pushya was on the ascendant, and all
the world seemed to be smiling.

Both sides of the beautiful road were lined
with richly clad citizens,
regal elephants, horse-drawn chariots
and colourful infantry.

In their resplendent carriages, all three
Queen-Mothers made the journey
to Nandigrama, and there awaited
the return of the exiles.

The exodus was indeed so complete
that it looked as though the whole
population, commoners and classes
alike, weic collected there!

Canto 61 ; The Coronation of Rama and Sita

Presently all heard the Pushpaka’s roar
as it made its arched descent,
and Rama appeared at the car’s gateway
with Maithili by his side. 304

There was a lusty deafening huzza
when the vast congregation
caught a glimpse of their beloved Rama
and Sita his flame-hke wife. 305

Sun-like in radiance, moon-like in charm,
the royal couple showered
their grace abounding on the expectant
and gratified multitude. 306

And Bharat ’., iransfigured by joy, raised
his Joined palms m gratitude,
and stepping into the car, lay prostrate
before Rama and Sita. 307

The melting moment of sweet reunion
sent out vibrations of joy,
and the whole assembly was firmly drawn
into that circle of bliss. 308

When the Vanara and Rakshasa Chiefs
had been duly introduced
and fraternal greetings had been exchanged,
they disembarked from the car. 309

Then Bharata greeted the newcomers —
the colourful warriors

and their wives — in the name and on behalf
of Ayodhya’s citizens ; 310

and added; “I welcome you, Sugriva,
and you too, Vibhishaiui,
as brothers, for because of your efforts
this victory has been won.” 311

Now Rama and Sita made obeisance
to their mother, Kausalya,
and next to Sumitra and Kaikeyi,
and to Rishi Vasishta.

312

508 Sitavana

Having made inquiries of all present,

Rama turned to the pilot
of Pushpaka, and asked him to return
to Kubera, its owner.

For in times long past, Ravana had waged
a bitter war against him
and dispossessed the God of Wealth of both
Lanka and the Pushpaka.

Now the great air-car winged its way above,
and nosed towards Kubera’s
realm in the remotest north, and slowly
disappeared behind the clouds.

Arriving at Bharata’s hermitage
in sacred Nandigrama,
the royal Princes and their fair consorts
were closely drawn together.

The fraternal inquiries helped the flow
of understanding and love,
and Vanara, Rakshasa and human
minds mingled admirably.

And Bharata, seizing that auspicious
and uniquely ordained time,
took Rama’s sandals from their pedestal
and fitted them to his feet.

Now raising the joined palms over his head,
Kaikeyi’s beloved son
respectfully saluted the hero,

Raghava, and spoke these words :

''My mother felt honoured when the Kingdom
was left in my hands by you :
even as you gave it, 1 now gladly
return the great realm to you.

Just as a mere calf can’t bear the burden
that’s meant for a mighty bull,
how can 1, with my inadequacy,
bear the weight of monarchy?

Rama! Vanquisher of Foes! a donkey
can never attain the pace
of a steed, nor a mere crow a swan’s gait;
neither am I your equal.

509 The Coronation of Rama and Sita

O Prince! long-armed warrior! should a tree
well fostered in a courtyard,
rising high, rich with its spreading branches
and in full efflorescence,

yet decline at the duly ordained time
to yield the expected fruit,
how does it profit the house, its inmates?
Tragic must such failure be.

So too the citizens of Ayodhya
w'lll feel denied and orphaned
if you do not consent to take the reins
of governance in your hands.

Let the world see you crowned with no delay
as the King of Ayodhya,
and you’ll shine like the Sun at its zenith
in all vour native glory.

And may ypur sovereignty extend over
all the world, and continue
as long as the Sun .nri the stars revolve,
and our patient Karth endures ”

Rama, scourge of his foes, heard Bharata’s
submission, and assented;
and expert hairdressers who were summoned
soon sheared Rama’s matted locks.

Bharata, Satrughna, the Vanara
King, Sugriva, and the King
of the Rakshasas, Vibhishana, all

bathed, attired and decked themselves.

Satrughna helped Rama and Lakshrnana
^o clothe themselves gorgeously,
while Sita was prepared for the event
by all the three Queen-Mothers.

Then Kausalya, centered in her son's love,
enrobed Sugriva’s consorts,

Tara and Ruma, Vibhishana's Queen,
Sarama, all in due form.

When all Raghava's guests were thus ready
for the move to the city,

Sumantra— as desired by Satrughna -
brought the royal chariot.

510 Sitayana

The mighty-armed illustrious Rama
and the gloried Janaki
stepped into the chariot, so striking
in its bearing and beauty;

and the others — Sugriva, Hanuman,
Vibhishana, and the fair
exotic visiting Queens, all adorned
with earrings bright and flashing,

and dressed in splendid colourful costume,
accompanied Raghava
all eager to set eyes on Ayodhya
the city of the Raghus.

The ministers Asoka, Vijaya,

Siddharta -- having resolved
to request Vasishta to supervise
the coronation process,

hurried out of their houses to welcome
Rama at the city gates,
even as Rama himself was coming
towards them with Maithili.

While Bharata had the reins in his hands,
Satrughna the canopy,

Lakshmana held the fao, Vibhishana
and Sugriva the chowries.

Just then resounded from the sky the hymns
in ardent praise of Rama
sung entrancingly by celestial choirs
of Rishis, Maruts and gods.

During Rama’s progress to the city
of broad mainstreets and mansions,
conches and kettle-drums gave out their peals,
the gratified citizens

raised the cry ‘Victory to Raghava!’,
received his fulsome blessings,
and made the train behind his chariot
a sheerly inspiring sight.

Environed by seething humanity,

Rama was the radiant
Moon amidst the stars; and ahead of him
marched many musical choirs.

5 1 1 The Coronation of Rama and Sita

Virgins carrying consecrated rice

touched with saffron and gold, priests
with holy sweets in their hands, and handsome
cows too, led the procession.

As described by Rama that his gem-set
palace may be allotted
to Sugriva, Bharata escorted
the noble Vanara King.

Now, on Satrughna’s request, Sugriva
ci^lled his lieutenants and said :

“Take these four golden vessels, and return
with the sacred waters soon.’'

And with despatch, the stalwart Vanaras
scattered themselves wide and far,
and engaged in the pooling together
of the wuilci sacred waters.

Jambavan cjime from the Eastern ocean,
Rishaba from the Southern,

Gavaya from the V'eetern, Hanuman
from the Norther* seas: all came,

having laboured throughout the night, before
daybreak, their shining vessels
filled with waters from all the seven seas
and seven hundred rivers.

Pleased with the arrival of the waters
for Rama's Coronation,

Satrughna and the Ministers informed
Vasishta the priest-in-chief.

Having for long looked forward to this hour,
the venerable Rishi
and his peers seated Rama and Sita
on the jewelled golden throne

Then that galaxy of seer-purohits —

Vasishta, Vamadeva,

Katyayana, Vijaya, Kasyapa —
consecrated Raghava

with the mingled waters fragrant and pure
from the rivers and oceans,
even as Mahendra himself was bathed
by the Vasus in heaven.

512 Sitayana

Now all the priests and brahmins in order,
all the virgins, ministers,
merchants and warriors, and all the hosts
and Devas in realms Above,

353

all the Big Four ordainers of the world,
all, all, anointed Rama
and Sita with drops of holy water
mixed with rare flowers and herbs.

354

Then Vasishta placed on Raghava’s head
the hallowed Crown of dazzling
splendour that the Kings of the Raghu race
had traditionally worn.

355

Satrughna held a fair white canopy
over Rama and Sita,
while Sugriva and Vibhishana fanned
the royal pair with chowries.

356

As desired by Indra, Vayu bestowed
on Rama a pearl necklace
with a pendent, and a garland of one
hundred golden lotuses.

357

In celebration, the Gandharvas sang,
many an Apsaras danced,
and all the earth seemed to smile with a burst
of leafage, flowers and fruit.

358

Rising to the occasion, Rama gave
gold and cows to the twice-born,
and to Sugriva a begemmed garland
brilliant like the great Sun’s rays.

359

Rama now gave Maithili the necklace
of purest white with pendent,
richly adorned with the rarest gems, and
scintillating like moonbeams.

•

360

Gallant Angada received two bracelets
spotted ^\Hth gems, and likewise

Hanuman had a pair of spotless robes
and a few prized ornaments.

361

Maithili then removed from her own neck
the magnificent necklace,
and gazed with calm intent at Raghava
and the gathered Vanaras.

362

513 The Coronation oj Rama and Sita

Infallible in thought-reading, Rama
knew from her face the question
behind it; and speaking to Janaki,
he let her judgement decide: 363

“O well-beloved Beauty! Bestow it
on the best, the warrior
who has the virtues of perseverance,
superhuman energy, 364

abundant foresight and resourcefulness,
and proper humility :

in' whom excellence is doubled with might,
and wisdom with intellect. 365

O give it to the Hero who has won
your total approbation!”

The dark-eyed Sita then gave the necklace
to the Wind-God’s gloried son. 366

As Hanuman wore that necklace of pearls,
he acquired a sudden glow
like a cloud-shrouded mountain radiant
with a strong s^iav of moonbeams.

Appropriate mementoes like raiment
and ornaments were bestowed
by Rama and Maithili on othei
heroes too, and their consorts;

Dwividha, Mainda, Nila, Jambavan,

Vibhishana, as also
Tara, Ruma, Sarama, Anala
and the dreamer, Trijata.

Then, in his supreme anxiety to give
good governance to his realm,
an^dept in Dharma himself. Rama
spoke to righteous Lakshmana:

“As you are well instructed in all things,
be crowned as Yuva Raja,
and rule this great land of our forefathers
as my unfailing ally.” 371

Lakshmana firmly, though respectfully
declining, Rama installed
Bharata as the Vicegerent so that
the realm might thrive in all ways. 372

367

368

369

370

34

514 Sitayam

The festival of the Coronation
ending, the princely Allies,
their consorts and other prized visitors
thought of their early return. 373

But this new festival season, after
the prolonged sterility
of the years of Rama’s exile, quickened
the pulses of Ayodhya, 374

and cast a fascination on the guests,
for it was verily Life,
a New Life; and glory and gaiety now
stalked abroad freely once more. 375

Canto 62; Mothers and Sisthrs

With the auspicious return of Rama,

Maithili and Sauraitri,

Bharata too shed his ascetic weeds
and joined Mandavi his wife.

Hastening to his mansion, Lakshmana
found his saintly Urmila
just awake, as if from a dream profound
that had held her in its clasp.

After the long years of separation,

Bharata and Lakshmana
savoured once more the simple normalcies
of the holy wedded state.

Maithili had a bri^f private session
with Kausalya and told her
of the vicissitudes of forest life,
the Panchavati id', 11 —

till the anger of burpanakha brought
Ravana upon the scene,
and led to the year-long captivity
in Lanka’s Asoka Grove.

Although Maithili tried to cast a veil
over her tribulations,
the woman’s heart of Kausalya saw all,
and she was speechless with pain.

Sumitra coming in just then, Sita
felt a little more at ease,
even when recalling the rejection
and her plunge into the fire.

“What hell you’ve beer through !” was all Kausalya
could say embracing Sita ;
but Sumitra sagely added : “Alas,
sufferance is woman’s name!

And yet, Maithili, there’s the game of Grace :

while we see things by snatches
and feel confounded, the good is distilled
out of the mire of evil.

516 Sitayana

When you are caught in the frenzy of flux,
it’s like wheels on gravel-heaps,
a ride over boulders and depressions —
not still-centeredness in Truth. 385

You’ve suffered, Sita, as few women have,
but you’ll sustain womanhood —
fair and frail and injured and insulted —
for all the ages to come.” 386

Kausalya added ; “Not Rama’s prowess,
nor his bowmanship either,
but the fire of your purity and pain
destroyed the Rakshasa King. 387

I don’t know what stark madness drove Rama
to defame you as he did :
we’re women, and our badge is misery,—
mother or wife, we suffer.”

Sumitra interposed with a broad smile:

“Sister Kausalya, a truce
to our discontents during this late spring
and dawn of joy abounding.

We don’t quite understand, we aren’t able
to pluck the heart of the strange
rhythm of night and day, pain and pleasure ;
so why not accept, and smile?

What seem to us jangling and jarring notes,
on a comprehensive view
may merge into the wondrous symphony,
the theme-song of Becoming.

A fair dawn has ushered in this great day,

Rama and Sita are back,
and all four brothers breathe Ayodhya’s air —
why, then, wear a heavy look?” 392

Kausalya agreed at once: “Sumitra,
like srutl in a concert
you refused to be swayed by the ascents
and descents of emotion ; 393

perched on the deeper poise of the Spirit
you suffer all, yet suffer
nothing, and by eschewing all passion
you preserve your sanity.

388

389

390

391

394

5 1 7 Mothers and Sisters

Between Kaikeyi’s assertive ego
and your transcendence of ‘F,
here I am, the feminine average,
more sinned against than sinning.” 395

But Sumitra only said; “Kausalya,
why this self-denigration?

You have always been the best of us all,
the pulse-beat of womanhood!” 396

Leaving the two Queen-Mothers together
to settle the argument,

Sita called on haughty Kaikeyi too
and prostrated before her. 397

After a few seconds’ hesitation,
like one shaken into life
Kaikeyi raised Sita to embrace her,
and spoke with pain and trembling: 398

“Maithili, my wounded child, a nightmare
has at laU come to an end:
because of my folly, my crime, all have
suffered, and you most of all.

Sita, I won’t shift the guilt to others,
for mine was the crucial push ;
yet 1 wonder how — or why - it happened,
why 1 played the villain’s role.

In my green girlhood at Rajagriha,
we used to amuse ourselves
with sundry dramatic divertissements,
and always I played the fiend!

And perhaps what was once a freak or prank
of juvenile innocence
afld was held in effective check for long,

erupted unguardedly. 402

Ifs not fair, Sita, to piay the coward
and blame crookback Manthara,
for although she egged me on, mine, mine was
the definitive action. 403

Think of it, Sita, for all time to come
as long as Himavant stands,
the Ganga flows, so long will this saga
live in minds and memories.

399

400

401

404

5 1 8 Sitayana

And Raghava’s filial piety, and
Lakshmana’s loyalty, and
your own role as Sita and Shakti, and
Kausalya’s endurance, and

Bharata’s great renunciation, all
will be cherished and admired ;
but equally, generations unborn
will only recoil from me!”

This confessional outburst, so unlike
her icy self-possession,
revealed Kaikeyi as vulnerable
with all her defences gone.

Sita felt stirred to the depths, and gauging
the pain in Kaikeyi’s eyes,
spoke words with a healing touch: ‘‘Ah Mother,
let’s not brood over the past.

When all seemed bleak in Asoka during
my sleepless nights, and I was
perilously close to despair and death,
the Grace somehow sustained me.

And perhaps you don’t know that 1 myself
by my childish insistence
and purblind perversity had brought all
that misery on myself..

All life’s like a phantasmagoria,
we feel baffled by the mix
of the illusory with the real,
and get easily entrapped.

Every ripple of occurrence, every
move or gesture, has its own
consanguinity with everything else,
and is sucked into the se; .

But hasty half-believers as we arc,
we miss the filiations,

take the loco for the Great Chain of Being,
and wallow in wretchedness.

My lease of happiness in Mithila,
the onrush of '\cdded bliss
in Ayodhya, the tn. ^en-year exile,
and never a dull moment !

5 1 9 Mothers and Sisters

1 had given up all without a thought,
all blessings of birth and state,
all Ayodhya’s fabled splendours and joy,—
but. Mother, mark my folly.

For a straying gold-seeming pretty deer
I lost my balance, I spoke
shrewishly, shamelessly, and drove away
my royal protectors both.

And, why, why, — 1 ask myself, — why did 1
noose myself thus with the cord
of fatality, opening the way
for Ravana’s intrusion?

The grim night descended then, for severed
from Rama and the bruised
Saumitri, what was it. Mother, but night,
the year-long night in Lanka?

And whai happened in that idiot houi
when, Mother, you lent year ear
to sly Manthara's counsel which jolted
your life and jammed its music?

There are clearly powers beyond our ken,
and they have larger concerns,
and make use of our inbuilt weaknesses
and petty calculations.

And thus were we both condemned, anu you ate
your heart out, Mother, behind
a sullen facade, and I lived my hell
in Lanka’s Asoka Grove.

Sometimes 1 felt deep within my being
my sore heart and bleeding soul
grow so heated up as though they must end
m a lethal blast and fire.

I felt frightened myself, for it might mean
a flaming raging wildness
tearing over Lanka, encompassing
its immitigable doom.

Yet something still deeper countermanded
the impending explosion,
and ’twas my will that, rather than others,

1 should bear the suffering.

520 Sitayana

But when Hanuman, from his hidden seat
among the leafy branches
of the Simsupa in Asoka Grove
saw me in my sordid plight :

tremblingly on the defensive before
Ravana’s lecherous stare
or cowering before the misshapen
and menacing wardresses :

perhaps by a mystic feat of transfer
he fissioned my contained fire
over the sprawling Rakshasas’ mansions
reducing them to debris.

Later, when I heard that Hanuman's tail
had been set on fire, 1 prayed
that Agni be cool, and so ‘twas indeed
while all Lanka was abla/e.

There was this dual exercise. Mother-
you drove us to Dandaka
as exiles, and I was then self-propelled
to my year of penitence’

Thus did the noble Bharala, like gold
emerging the more golden
from the fire, come out of the ordeal
the noblest of the brothers.

And thus did Sarabhanga, Sabari,

Viradha and Kabanda,
attain their several kinds of release
with the coming of Rama;

and Sugriva won his wife and Kingdom,
and Ravana met his end ;
a series of new times will now begin,
and it’s thanks to you and me’

Oft I think. Mother, we don’t know a thing,
oui reason and memory,
our wit anc Xvisdom, seem inadequate,
and we but writhe helplessly.

And yet, at other times of crystalline
lucidity, 1 look deep
and see a crater, and yet deeper still,
a fount of infinite bliss.

521 Mothers and Sisters

Thus when the pain of vain regrets assails
like a thousand pins of fire,
what antidote but the faith that the Grace
is around, the Redeemer!

Tve confused myself alas, for this joy
of reunion and return
makes me giddy almost ; I can forget
the past; so must you. Mother!

And besides, in retrospect, our exile
in the penitential woods
was an undreamt-of blessing, rather than
a woeful deprivation.

The traps and terrors were few, the native
felicities were many,

and the Ashramas were havens of peace,
and Panchavati was bliss’

Let's not therefoic ;hink too curiously
on these equations of cause
and effect, for I'm sure all arc dissolved
in a deeper har',io y.”

Kaikeyi was profoundly moved, she knew
the words came from the depths, and
touched her own heart-strings; and feeling consoled,
she embraced Sita once more.

Gently retrieving herself, Maithili
now sought her own sisters, and
found all three together at Urmila's,
assessing recent events.

As always, Urmila had a pensive
and distant look, Mandavi
ex%ided quiet efficiency, and
Srutakirti was gushing’

The apartment was full . f coloured paints,
and taking a sweeping glance
she marvelled that facets of her exile
had been recaptured so well.

Dreamer, mystic, clairvoyant, Urniila
had seen with her inner eye
and touched select scenes from the exiles' life
with the tints of permanence.

522 Sitayana

Srutakirti jumped from her seat, pointed
to one of the canvases
and commented; “See, Sita, this painting
of your Chitrakuta home; 445

it was finished before I met you there!

Urmila is just crazy —
between deep sleep and spasmodic sessions
with the brush, paint and palette! 446

Urmila has been living in two worlds,
thus avoiding this flawed earth!

And see this, and this, and this — compelling
images of unseen worlds. 447

Some of these, like the demoness rebuffed,
the vulture in its death-throes,
the monkey on an incendiary spree;
these were surreal for us ! 448

And Urmila herself, always under
a psychic pressure when not
asleep, could hardly name the prototypes
of her madhubani prints."

Half guiltily Urmila faced Sita,
and said with a childlike smile:

“Indeed, Sister, I can recall nothing,
all’s one, painting and dreaming!"

As once at Mithila in their nonage,
they all sal together now,
and for a while two or three talked at once,
and they breathed the joy of life.

Srutakirti said: “Do you know, Sita,

Mandavi has suffered most
and complained least? Her silence is her strength,

and renouncing, she enjoys!" ^52

Sita felt the throb of pain and pleasure,
for these were her sisters, and
they might le the divers emanations

of the one supreme Shakti! 453

Urmila was manifest Lakshmi, and
Srutakirti was Kali,
and Mandavi was Saraswati, and
she felt drawn towards them all.

449

450

451

454

523 Mothers and Sisters

From the confused and often cross-firing
talk, Maithili could piece out
the sort of listless life people had lived

during the past fourteen years. 455

Nothing was wanting, and yet everything -
in the absence of Rama,

Sita, Saumitri — seemed to be wanting,
like a body without soul! 456

While Bharata ruled from Nandigrama
in his absent Brother’s name,

’twrs Mandavi that reigned in Ayodhya
with executive finesse. 457

If Urmila with her occult powers
and audacious intuitions
unravelled happenings unseen, unheard,
and gave them form and colour: 458

if Srutakirti witn her energy.

intensity, buoyancy,
and irresistible drive carried all

before her, winning smiling: 459

it was Mandavi’s role to manifest
precision and perfection
of effort and result, and unsleeping

will to attend to deatil. 460

Nothing was too trivial for her care -
an ailing cow, a lonely
parrot, a leaking pitcher and always

alert, and always busy! 461

Sita could now see that, since Ayodhya
had become out of bounds for
evqp Bharata, a heavy burden

had been thrown on the others. 462

Thai explained the key r^^les of batrughna
and his wife, Srutakirti;
and the behind-the-scenes efficiency
of the silent Mandavi.

Disengaging herself with an effort
from that intimate circle,

Sita hurried to the gorgeous mansion
housing Sugriva’s consorts.

463

464

Canto 63 : A Round of Visits

Twas with some self-questioning that Sita
approached Tara and Ruma,
for though she had met them briefly before
she knew little about them. 465

Maithili was aware of the background
of complex relationships
involving Vali and Sugriva, and

their wives, Tara and Ruma. 466

Impulsive and impetuous, Vali
had hounded out Sugriva
from Kishkindha, and also deprived him
of his gentle wife, Ruma. 467

When as agreed between them Rama caused
the overthrow of Vali,

Sugriva won Ruma and Kishkindha
and widowed Tara as well. 468

That wasn't a matter of revenge at all
or the compulsion of lust ;

’twas protection for Tara, as also
Angada her only son-. 469

For Sita, the meeting proved most friendly
and the talk enlightening ;

Ruma was goodness uncomplicated,
and Tara a noble soul. 470

After a few good-humoured exchanges
about the Coronation,

Ruma withdrew as if designedly,
and all inhibitions ceased. 471

The elder, more weather-beaten, Tara
broke thi,ice and said: “Sita,
how sweet of you to come! It’s an oasis
in the parched desert of love. 472

I’m old. Sita, or at least matronly,
and therefore e^Derienced;
and therefore, again, rather worldly-wise :
but this wisdom is nothing.

473

525 A Round of Visits

The immaculate Rama killed Vali,
and widowed Mandodari ;
and all that toil and terror and travail
was only to redeem you.

And yet, Sita, when the great moment came
Rama chose to reject you!

I couldn’t believe when Sugriva told me;

1 feel baffled still, and hurt.

Let me tell you what’s in my mind, Sita;

I firmly believe Rama
ha?, come with a mission, as avatar
perhaps, a descended god.

Yet why, why this assault on sanity?

this decline to the level
of the common herd of jealous husbands?
Ah how you must have suffered!”

Sita sighed and look a deep breath and said
“I too have asked the question —
and not once alone — but there’s no answer
and for other questions loo.

I don’t know why Kaikeyi demanded
Rama's exile: 1 saw her
a little while ago, and she’s puzzled
herself she simply doesn’t know!

Why, why Vali’s tryst with inviting Death?

Why Ravana’s obsession
with me? Why a million deaths in Lanka?
The wailing of the widows!

Rama is almost apologetic
he rejected me because
hejiad faith 1 would emblazon my Truth
before that vast assembly!

This is no answer, he kn^^ws it himself;

Jamadagni asked his son
to kill Mother Renuka : Gautama
cursed the hapless Ahalya.

You know, Tara, soon after my wedding
and her own resurrection,

I chanced to meet the sainted Ahalya,
and had her benedictions.

526 Sitayana

Tm young, Tara, and you are wise, and like
Anasuya, Ahalya
and Mandodari, a shining model
of pure and chaste womanhood.

But how will you define the quintessence
of womanly chastity?

Is purity mere insulation from
the brush of the outside world?”

Tara felt overcome by Sita’s intent
gaze and trusting anguished heart,
and found the words at last ; ‘‘What’s this, Sita,
flawed myself, how should I know?

How can you put me on a pedestal
with those other holy ones;
the peerless Anasuya, the flawless
and regal Mandodari,

or even Ahalya, with the great gains
of her prolonged askesis?

I am of a different race and kind,
with our own compulsive codes.

And yet, Sita, since you’ve posed the question,
let me tell you what 1 think,
a Vanara as 1 am, now living
with my late husband’s killer.

What governs male-female relationships
is a shifting, elastic,
evolutionary ethic, changing

with the changing times and mores.

The purity of mind and heart and soul
is the quintessential mark,
for the body’s self-protection from taints
fails sometimes, or isn’t enough.

Because a lecher is unscrupulous
albeit a king or a god ! —
and seizes ur forces a hapless one,
shall we consign her to hell?

Sometimes, Sita, my frenzy conjures up
a nightmare scenario
of the exodus of populations,
of massacres and mass rapes;

527 A Round of Visits

and after such universal madness,
should the male of the species,
having already gored the unfallen,
still defame the crucified? 494

Without a deep faith in the Fatherhood
or the Motherhood of God,
the ties of kinship and community
weaken and wither away. 495

But when the male ego gorges itself
on the twin prepossessions
of War and lechery, these eat themselves,
and the commonwealth is sick!” 496

Tara paused, as if at a loss what more
to say, her mind in a siege
of conflicting emotions, and wishing
she could iinsay her saying. 497

But the anguish haj gone home, and Sita
tried desperately to come
to terms with the divers incendiary
possibilities of life 498

At last she found her voice: “But why, Tara,
when God is the home of all,
the source of all, we his derivatives
have thus messed up everything?” 499

Tara answered: “That’s what I ask myself:

how could the Delegations
of Light, Love, Bliss, Life lose their divine links
and become night, hate, pain, death? 500

There’s surely a total Truth whose quartet
of earth-manifestations
have somehow turned into their opposites
and waxed into a Falsehood. 501

The powder-puff of ‘honour’, the vengeful
‘An Eye for an Eye’ war cry,
the ego’s thrust, can but unleash Death, while
charity goes underground! 502

And yet Sita, I’ve not ceased to hanker
or hope, and I still believe,
for all the riddles he poses, Rama
is our Saviour-Spirit.

503

528 Sitayana

One word more, Sita, O blameless stainless
Earth-born and brave Madonna
of Suffering! the greater role is yours
as Rama’s conscience and soul.” 504

The conversation had thus suddenly
come to a stop, and Tara,
befitting her age and wisdom, offered
her good wishes to Sita. 505

Maithili too was deeply touched, and felt
a descent of peace within,
and having made obeisance, she took leave
and moved to Sarama’s place. 506

For Sita, the round of visits after
the colourful fulfilment
of the Coronation ceremony

was a healing pilgrimage. 507

She found Sarama relaxing, and while
Anala seemed excited
with her discovery of Ayodhya,

Trijata was moody still, 508

The coming of Sita was a bonus
and a grace, and Sarama
received her with an explosion of joy,
and a shower of blessipgs. 509

Sarama could see a cloud hovering
over the pensive Sita,
for fits of harrowing introspection
had veiled her face with sadness. 5 1 0

“But Sita,” said Sarama anxiously,

“the tedious long night’s vigil
in Asoka Grove is ended at last;
why, then, this melancholy?” 511

“It’s all right. Mother,” Maithili answered;

“I’ve been calling upon friends,
and perhaps I’ve emotionally stretched
myself too much and too long. 512

But how can I ever thank, you enough
for your unfailing goodness,
for all the moral and occult support
you all gave me in Lanka!”

513

529 A Round of Visits

‘‘No, no,” Sarama answered with a smile,

“you came as golden Graae-Light,
and your imprisonment was the charter
of Lanka’s liberation.

514

Twas rather more difficult for my Lord,
for he had to flee Lanka
and later raise his hand against the bone
of his bone, and flesh as well.

515

He must have undergone a regular
..insurrection deep within,

for don’t you know what this means: he’ll go down
branded as a defector!

516

How many in this world of masks and mists
can see the fateful issue
between the forces of Light and Darkness,
and ah^ with the Divine?

517

But no more ol this, Sita, for Lanka
has learnt her lesson the hard
way, and the wounds will heal in course of time,
and new timc> prolong themselves.”

518

The smog leceded, and Maithili talked
with spontaneous abandon
and conviviality Vv^ith Anala,
and all constraints disappeared.

519

Sita was about to rise and lake leave
of them when she found herself
caught for a second in Trijata’s gaze
so intent and hypnotic.

520

As one participating in a trance,

JVIaithili heard the strange words:

“Let me not admit fresh impediments
to your new felicity.

521

1 see a cloud no bigger than my hand
perch on the tar horizon :
perhaps it will pass, but my mind misgives —
may the Mother be with you!”

522

Then Trijata iclaxed, and smiled a wan
and lingering smile, and said:

“These fits aren’t uncommon with me, Sita,
and probably mean nothing.”

523

530 Sitayana

Now Maithili rose and bade them goodbye,
but Anala followed her
till she was back in her royal mansion,
joining her expectant Lord. 524

The night seemed endearingly to blanket
the magnificent city,
and happiness once more permeated
the citizens’ consciousness. 525

Yet one more visit remained, and Sita
hurried to Vasishta’s Grove
and paid obeisance to Arundhati,
the all-suffering Shakti. 526

Gathering the prostrate Queen m her arms,
the Rishipatni, tuning
her omniscient gaze and understanding,
spoke these nectarean words; 527

“I now see you crowned with a golden glow,
and you’re clearly the channel
of a manifestation meant to give
a push towards Tomorrow. 528

Who but you, my dear, .sustained by a will
from Above, although faced by
those daunting nightmarish tribulations,
could have thus scatheless come through? 529

Even in the future now unfolding,

’twill not be day all the time,
life’s a web of varied yarn, but fear not,

the Grace is with you always!” 530

The truth-speaking and compa.ssionate Seer
could speak neither less nor more,
and Sita, contented yet alerted,

made a parting obeisance. 53!

As Sita returned in her palanquin
to her high-gated mansion,
the beneve'ent night lay sprawled across,
and she sought the folds of sleep.

532

Canto 64; Rama Rajya

Another and a greater dawn shone forth
o’er imperial Ayodhya,

and the great Sun-God held forth the promise
of a wondrous Golden Age.

As the Coronation festivities
had ended, Vibhishana,

Si’griva, Hanuman and Jambavan,
along with their retinue,

having received largesse in fair measure
from magnanimous Rama,
the prized happy visitors now prepared
to make return to their homes.

The Vonara Chiefs offered obeisance
to Rama and Maithili,
received the Grace of their benedictions
and flew back lo Kishkindha.

Royal Vibhishana, soul of Dharma
and Lord of Lanka, also
returned with his consort and retinue
to his distant dominion.

And the noble illustrious Raghava
and flame-pure Sita. his Queen,
peacefully governed their far-flung Empire
and gave joy to the people.

All the varied castes, classes and sections,
^pfraining from selfishness,
thrived on their own toil, and won and enjoyed
all legitimate blessings.

The quality of integral welfare
marked Ayodhya's governance
sustained by Rama’s firm understanding
and Sita's solicitude.

And there were the promising beginnings
of an era oi delight ;

wasn’t it the hour of the ascendant gods
and dawn of the Life Divine?

532 Siiayana

This dawn-ho * j>plendour of the righteous reign
of Kausalya's darling son,
with the Earth-born, Sita, sharing his throne,
her Giace matching his Power:

the clotteci fog and darkness of the past
four and ten years of exile,
when Ayodhya’s native Light was banished
to the forests of the Night:

when the blameless Bnarata from his cell
in outpost Nandigrama
ruled, with Rama’s consecrated sandals
holding the reins of control :

when all things were ordained by the mystic
Presence of the absent Prince
and the meticulous efficiency
of the loyal Vicegerent :

that uncertain stretch of time of grapple
between the Asuric hordes
and the protagonists of Light had ceased
with this burst of new Sunrise.

But a year ago all had seemed awry
in the three contrasted realms
of Ayodhya, Vanara Kishkindha
and the Rakshasas’ Lanka.

Endowed by Nature and the humane arts,
Ayodhya on Sarayu

went about her numerous tasks of peace
though dimmed by the touch of tears.

At Kishkindha the mighty Vali ruled
while the hapless Sugriva,
his dispossessed brother, lay in hiding
on the Rishyamukha Mount.

And Sita, torn by deceit from Rama’s
side by the Rakshasa King,
lay languishing in the Asoka Grove
in far-off sea-girt Lanka.

The citizens of Ayodhya followed
their normal occupations
as in a strange Uai^e of automation,
with the soul inert, asleep.

533 Rama Rajya

Prince Bharata felt like one self-exiled
from Ayodhya’s civic life,
and with matted locks and austere raiment
shaped his life in askesis. * 552

While the absent Sita, the Earth-born Flame,
still lighted the world within,
the silent and sensible Mandavi

sustained the pulses of time. 553

Ghost-like Kaikeyi paced the corridors
of her polished apartments,
and the cautious crookback kept her distance
albeit trailing her mistress. 554

Urmila, swaying between spells of sleep
or trance and intense sessions
of painting or mystic recordations,
united the sundered halves. 555

Srutakirti was of course everywhere,
and was alwa\;, everything
to everybody, consoler, goss’p,

counsellor, executrix! 556

Kausalya counted tV«' years, months, weeks, days -
thirteen years after, one year
remained, ah just a little more patience,
and hope, and faith most of all! 557

Only Sumitra, in her all-knowledge
that imposed total silence,
moved unobtrusively; she was the Bass,
the soul of the Symphony.

Vali in his rugged upland-city
of Kishkindha ruled and reigned
undisturbed by thought of guilt or pity
•or possible consequence,

while Sugriva, in his Rishyamukha
Tiide-out, nursed his huge grievance
and was sore over his lost Ruma, now
in possessive Vali’s arms.

And, amidst the oppressive silences
of Lanka’s Asoka Grove,
torn apart from her royal Lord, Sita
eked out her nightmare non-life.

558

559

560

561

534 Sitayana

Then a procession of a year of months
and the whole prospect had changed :
the wise Hanuman having brought Rama
and Sugriva together, 562

and so vali’s life becoming forfeit,

Sugriva came to his own ;
and Rama could end Ravana’s misrule

and rescue lost Maithili. 563

The air-dash to Ayodhya had followed,
then the grand Coronation :
thus were the foundations laid for a new
and worthy dispensation. 564

The heroic and human stood revealed
in Kosala’s spacious realm
as the Life Divine in efflorescence
warmed up by the Mind of Light. 565

The rule of the subhuman and unjust
Vali of warrior stance
gave place to the humanised governance
of Vanara Sugriva. 566

And in Lanka, the mighty Ravana,

Lord of Unrighteousness, had
fallen, giving place to Vibhishana,

the upholder of Dharma. 567

A new world of diversified richness
and deeper affinities,
the Nara-Vanara-Rakshasa league

tasted the blessings of peace. 568

The crash of an existing harmony
by the sudden intrusion
of a false note — the snapping of a string —
asks for a new ordering. 5o9

A little turn or twist or toss or trick
does the mangling of the tune,
and demands a supreme effort to bring
rejuvenation about. 570

The crookback Manthara’s spiteful impulse,
the fall of Vali, the crash
of the Rakshasa’s prestige and power,
all were subtly interlinked.

571

535 Rama Rajya

Where was the beginning of the fateful
sequence of cause and effect,
the muffled but ruthless chain-reaction —
and did they yet see the end?

Didn’t one’s hindsight locate the soul of good
in things seemingly evil?
or the sinister taint of corruption
on the glittering facade?

Go back and back to the Progenitor,
and lay at his ample door
the authorship of all the contingent
transactions of life on earth !

He willed he would at once be manifold
yet integrally the same :
the entire puzzle and the labyrinth,
and the saving clue as well !

Out of the sole cosmic Egg, a billion
had sprang into existence —
species with their tv^asing variations,
and life with its mutations.

At the dizzy height of the creative
ecstasy of joy and pain,
first the godly race, then the Asuric,
and finally the human.

The divine beings, endowed with excess
of one or another trait,
a push untrammelled hither or thither,
suffered from sheer satiety.

Agni was raging fire, and Vanina
downpour and flood, and Vayu
all whirlwind, Yama ever anti-life,

• and Indra self-indulgence.

’Twas Prajapati taught them the virtue

• of restraint, moderation

and humility, lest they overstretch
themselves and wallow in grief.

The Asuras, affluent in their might
and prone to self-assertion
and cruelty, made terror their gospel
and defied the verities.

536 Sitayana

All Light repelled them, and they had a taste
for acts of desecration,

cried ‘0 Night, be thou our Day!’ and roistered
their way to self-destruction.

582

Prajapati their Sire gave sage advice:

“Cruelty, like all excess,
hurts itself, and not the victim alone —
show pity, hold back in time!”

583

The fairest, frailest, of the three species —
the humans — in their insane
drive for security grew wings of greed
and brooded o’er their pickings.

584

Nothing ever satisfied them — things and
things, and more and more of them
in excess, and a sick rapacity
for prestigious surplusage!

585

And Prajapati told them: “Possessions
but crib, cabin and deaden
your native sovereignties : give away, then,
and travel light, and survive!”

586

Thus when the initial emanations —
gods, demons, men — were blighted
by the rank insidious aberrations
of kama, krodha, lobha.

587

the shared progenitor„Prajapati,
thundered the same DA at them,
and they grasped its meaning as Damyata,
or Dayadhvam, or Datta\

588

The species had then multiplied themselves
with numberless mutations,
and varieties of form, selfhood and breed,
and essayed co-existence.

589

But the spiralling Time Spirit threw up
aberrant aggrandisements
and intolerable iniquities
and saj as of suffering.

590

It was during one such monstrous tumble
of an established order
that Sita’s tears had engineered a new
concord amor g the nations.

591

537 Rama Rajya

And Rama Rajya, in its intrinsic
functioning, now extended
the world over, comprising Rakshasa,

Vanara and Manava

Thus from Ayodhya’s synoptic centre
of Power in league with Grace,
now radiated the life-giving rays
of blemishless well-being

When presently the Venerable Ones,
the Rishis, wise Agastya
leading them, came on a visit and sought
audience of Raghava,

he received with proper cciemon>
and reverential regard
the self-illumined hoary visitors
from the penitential woods

The famed sages centred in tapasva
pronouiicto thnr benedictions
and expressed then deep joy at the return
of righteous rule everywhere

It was no mean Wt to have faced and slam
such formidable fighters
as Ravana, Indrajit, Prahasta,

Mahodara, Nikumbha

In a voice that echoed through all the worlds
the Rishi congregation
blessed Rama and his brothers, Sita and
her sisters, and one and all

Some minutes of sheer nectarean silence
signified a fulfilment
profound and serene , but after a pause
•Rama gave voice to his thoughts-

“Revered Elders and all-knowing Sages,
■blessed are we in Ayodhya
that your visit today has sanctified
this Kingdom and graced us all

But as I review the years of exile,
the painful antecedents,
the vicissitudes of life in the woods,
and the deceit and terror

538 Sitavana

of Ravana’s abduction of Sita
and her cruel internment
in the Asoka Grove, and the dolour,
and the sanguinary strife, 602

I cannot but be seized with puzzlement :

why, why? why the Rakshasas?

Wherefore did they emanate from the womb
of the cosmic mystery? 603

You from whose steady gaze nothing is hid,
can you not enlighten me—
for I see bits and patches of the truth,
but not the integral Whole; 604

can you not, uncanny seers ol times past,
present and future! show me
the truth behind the tread of the events,
the clue to the mystery?” 605

Canto 65 ; Agastya Speaking

There followed a pause almost unending;

and then, as though that was why
he had come, the omniscient Agastya
addressed these words to Rama :

606

“0 warrior King, there are mists behind
mists, and the lost horizon
forever lures us on, and forever
eludes our attaining it.

607

A fraction of a fraction at a time,
an atom of an atom,
that’s what even the most percipient,
the wisest, can hope to see.

608

and when we stray beyond our familial
rounds, wt. lose all direction,
we jumble the real and unreal,
we miss the imperatives.

609

The bizarre can blind the bewildered eye,
crass actuality can
deaden one’s outraged sensibility
and confound the verities.

610

Who knows the beginning of beginnings
when we’ve all come but mid-way,
and the conclusion is unconcluded --
where’s the final picture, then?

611

At some time in the pastness of the past

Pulastya in askesis

had from Rishi Trnabindhu’s daughter
a son and heir, Visravas.

612

Growing up in tapas like his father,
worthy Visravas wedded

Devavarni, and had a gitted son.

Kubera, beloved of all.

613

His own sustained tapasya won for him
all the sovereignty of wealth,
and he ranked fourth among the gods after

Indra, Varuna, Yama.

614

540 Sitayana

He made luxurious Lanka — once the seat
of the Rakshasa Empire —
his home, and had for his use an air-car,
the well-furnished Pushpaka.”

When Rama gently intervened to ask
how the Rakshasas had held
imperial sway for long from Lanka, and
wherefore they had gone away,

Agastya once again took up the thread
of the narrative and traced
the Rakshasa race to far distant times,
lost in dim antiquity :

"ril start with Heti, who wedded Bhaya,
Yama’s sister, and their son,

Vidyutkesa, married Sandhya’s daughter,
fair Salakatankata.

She bore a son, Sukesa, and left him
lone on the Mandara mount
and rushed back to her husband to renew
their amorous excesses.

But as a foundling favoured by Uma,

Sukesa prospered, and had
from Devavati three sons, Sumali,
Malayavan and Mali.

They were practitioners of askesis
and won rare boons from Brahma,
and used them to harrass and persecute
the gods and demons alike.

And they moved to magnificent Lanka
the Southern city structured
by Visvakarma so as to rival
Indra’s Amaravati.

Then the three brothers married three sisters
Malayavan, Sundari;

Sumali, Ketumati; and Mali,
the excellent Vasudha.

Rich was the issue of the marriages,
but in their pride of success
and the blindness of their o’erweening pride,
they outraged the decencies.

541 Agastya Speaking

The victimised gods made a desperate
appeal to Narayana, ,
and in Ihe terrific fight that ensued
the Rakshasas were routed.

Mali lay dead, hard-pressed Malaya van
retired to the underworld,
and Sumali brooded out slimy thoughts
of revenge and revival.

Ambitious, and scheming to supersede
Kubera, Sumali asked
hl^ daughter, Kaikasi, to beget sons
from great Visravas himself.

Now when obedient Kaikasi appeared
in all her seductive charm
before Visravas during the fire-rite,
his eyes ardent and ablaze,

he looked into t»ic heart of her mission,
knew the evil it would breed
(for her chosen hour was malevolent),
yet gave her what she desired.

‘You may feel fulfilled, Kaikasi,* he said,
‘but 'twa? a wrong time you chose
for this consummation, and you'll mother
vicious and cruel children.'

On her earnest remonstrance he added :

‘The last will redeem the rest';
and thus came Ravana, Kumbhakarna,
Surpanakha their sister,

and righteous Vibhishana, last of all;

and they grew up in the woods,
each in consonance with the native traits
decreed by fatality.

Retiring to Gokarna, the brothers
engaged in austerities
spread over a long period of time
and won Brahma's high regard.

Ravana desired immunity from
death at the hands of divers
classes of creatures; Kumbhakarna's tongue
made a slip, and asked for sleep.

542 Sitayana

while Vibhishana, centered in the Self
although a Rakshasa born,
prayed only that he should never swerve from

the straight path of righteousness. 635

Now Sumali, still nursing his fevered
thoughts of revenge and return,
urged Havana to seize from Kubera
the royal throne of Lanka. 636

Hesitant at first, Ravana overcame
his scruples, and their father
Visravas himself advised Kubera

not to resist his brother. 637

The creature is cruel,' said the great sage,

'and will sin against Dharma:
leave Lanka to the wicked Rakshasas,
and retire to Kailasa.’ 638

And so Lanka came under Rakshasa
rule again, and Ravana
married the virtuous Mandodari,

who bore a son, Meghanad. 639

Not content with the Kingdom of Lanka,

Havana's eyes roamed elsewhere;
he desecrated the hermitages

and slew the sainted inmates. 640

Driven by a mad insatiable lust,

Ravana trampled upon
the decencies and threw his weight about

like an elephant in rut. 641

When Kubera advised moderation,

Ravana in furious ^

battle defeated the proud Lord of Wealth
and seized his prized Pushpaka. 642

There was no limit now to Havana’s
reckless rampageous career
of conquest and deprivation, till he
overreached himself at last. 643

Trying in a wild gesture of contempt
to uproot Shiva’s mountain,

Ravana found his hands crushed, and he howled
with pain and disgrace for years.

644

543 Agastya Speaking

The reverberations of his wailing
echoed through the triple worlds;
then his release came - yet he persisted
in evil unlimited

till his insane lust for Vcdavati,
that pure flame, put out the light;
but rekindled in Sita’s anguished heart,
the fire destroyed him indeed "

Agastya went on with his nariative —
was there verily no end
to the harrowing talc of Ravana’s
follies and enormities?

Was he single or motley— or legion ■
did ne diet all the time
on sheer excrescence and extravagance,
on lust, violence and greed

Once blincied by th(' fumes (d'war, he had
in the heat of the moment
killed his sister Surpanakha's husband,
the titan Vidyujhh' i

She had then raised a hue and cry on his
return to Lanka, so he
sent her with half-brother, Khaia, to share
the Daiidaka vastnesses.

Sita couldn't help linking her misfortunes
with all these bizairerics
in the confused web of relationships
involving men, gods, demons

While Agastya was thus telling the tale
,of Rakshasa origins
and of the sanguinary history
oi‘ Ravana's campaignings,

Sita, listening with grim intensity,
looked sad and wistful, her eyes
grew' moist, and in her memory's chambers
she felt a strange stir of life.

Ah Vedavati! the resonant name
threw wide open the trap-doors
of a million-year store of memories
and galvanised the dead past.

544 Sitayana

It all returned with lightning suddenness:

the Himalayan retreat,
and the young ardent maid in matted hair
and clad in deer-skin raiment!

Her sire, a Brahma Rishi, used to chant
evocative Vedic Riks,
and she had been moulded by that music
even in her mother’s womb.

Fifteen years she had grown in sun and snow,
and as became her rare name,
she had embodied the ardour serene
for the consecrated God.

Then too, was it Ravana that had turned
on her his lecherous eye
and driven her to light a blazing fire
for her self-immolation?

Agastya was continuing his tale
of Ravana’s multiple
misdemeanours, his unquenchable lusts
and his vile desecrations :

the prosperous kingdoms he overran,
the warriors he laid low,
the royal dames and the hapless maidens
he snatched, and thei] sneaked away.

Agastya’s monotonous recital
lacerated none the less,
and the tears and cries of the injured ones
materialised again.

Was it herself, wondered Sita, since all
seemed so vivid and painful ;
was it indeed Vadavati that had
now come back as the Earth-born?

The Rishi’s level voice prolonged itself
and evoked the old dramas
of passion i.nd hatred and violence,
and Sita listened again :

‘‘With Ravana came rampage and ruin,
and no quarter escaped him ;
not Ayodhya itself was spared the blow,
and King Anaranya fell.

545 Agastya Speaking

Then, on wily Narada’s suggestion
the Rakshasa turned away
from the world of human mortality,
and challenged Yama himself! 665

Ah if he could effect the death of Death,
the extinction of Yama,
that would redound to his lasting credit ;
he might out-top the topmost! 666

Thus did the Lord of Unrighteousness try
to set at naught the engines
of the moral world of good and evil,

ihe Law of Causality. 667

Even so, Yama’s irresistible

death-missile would have undone
Ravana, but Brahma interceded,

and Yama withdrew his shaft. 668

The ruthL »s Ravana thus rode rough-shod
o’er all the sanctities, and
age-long proprieties and humanities,
and raged like a pestilence. 669

He seized the women he fancied whether
married or single, clapped them
in his Pushpaka, having ruthlessly

routed their male protectors. 670

Trapped in the air-car, the wretched women
wailed piteously, and their sighs
and tears were like the fire and the fountain,

and the air-car a fire-pit!” 671

A recrudescent agony shook her
once more, as if Sita lived
the ouraged women’s shame and suffering

in her own submerged being. 672

And even Ravana wasn’t the very
first or worst of such sinners:
hadn’t Indra, with his cowardly trick on

fair Ahalya’s chastity, 673

injured his own non-pareil spouse, Sachi,
by his infidelity,

and outraged all innocent womanhood,
more sinned against than guilty?

674

546 Sitayana

In Agastya’s cold recital, Brahma
himself had reprimanded
Indra for his despicable action

in befooling Ahalya. 675

Brahma had fashioned her without flaw, but
when Indra took her by fraud
and force, ’twas he set the vile tradition
of such cunning and deceit.

“Alas, alas!” Maithili cried within,
and her soul writhed, as if hurt;

“must the lecherous male of the species,
be it god, demon or man,

must the wolf-male, the crass sensualist,
have it ever his own way?

Must the fishmonger-male forget himself
and desecrate womanhood?

This imbecile Ravana, fulfilling
his father's petulant curse,
caught women and crushed them, as wanton boys

tortured birds and butterflies. 679

Maithili faced the excruciating fact
that the best of humankind, —
they too, like Dasaratha, had succumbed

to polygamous desires. 680

Aye, aye, she mused bitterly, for these men,
these same knight-errants of lust,
women were but commodities, trophies

or pieces of property! 681

Woman was cheap — the Mother of the race
was nothing, worse than nothing;
sisters, daughters, — weren’t they expendable?

Sufferance was Woman’s name! 682

Yet once more Sita reined her racing thoughts,
and grew attentive again ;
and she he ird Agastya speak with anguish
about the rape of Rambha : 683

“More and more, and still more, of this frenzy,”
mused Sita in agony ;

“so Ravana, claiming she was fair game,
had forced Rambha to his lust!”

676

677

678

684

547 Agastya Speaking

Preserving a disarming outer calm,
Maithili yet fumed within,
saw Rambha too as her earlier self,
and her insurance as well

For, after that abuse, her own lover,
Nalakubara, had cursed
that one such attempt more, and Ravana’
head would split into fragments

This was to come as a Magna Charta
for the unwilling women
m Ravana’s household, and arrest him
from the ultimate outrage

Canto 66; Sita’s Stream of Consciousness

Wonders were many indeed, thought Sita,
yet the run of Ravana’s
exploits as killer — and as ravisher
of women — was past belief. 688

But she marvelled at the immense time-span
backgrounded in Agastya’s
recapitulation of Ravana’s

misdeeds and atrocities. 689

Was it the same Ravana rough-riding
through many generations
of mankind, boldly flaunting his ticket
of defiant deathlessness? 690

Was Ravana one or many? Was he
a primordial pestilence,
a symbol of the evil of the world,
a self-sustaining Darkness? 691

Perhaps a name, disease, epidemic,
as much a part of earth-life
as the rotation of the six seasons,
or the day's cycle of hours! 692

But this only made it worse, for who could
ever hope to give battle
to such a time-transcending abstraction,
a cosmic malignity? 693

Sita’s simple human mind felt jolted
by the multiplicity
of Ravana's cavalcade of victims
of his megalomania. 694

And except that Sita had herself met
the repulsive Titan’s stare,

suffered hfs animal touch more scalding ,

than cataclysmal hell-fire, 695 |j

Sita would have dismissed the Rakshasa
as a Rishi’s invention-,
a persisting superstition, a toy
for the adult nursery.

696

549 Sita *s Stream of Consciousness

Sita’s dilemma was she knew enough
of the Ravana terror
to abhor it, yet felt incredulous
about its immensitudes.

Everything — the mind-fatiguing time-scale,
the bouts of tapas, the boons
and curses — conspired to throw out of gear
her mechanism of thought.

She wouldn’t blaspheme or be irreverent,
of course, yet couldn’t appreciate
Brahma’s unthinking showering of boons
on monsters like Ravana’

What tapas was it that forced from Brahma
so permissive a charter
licensing Ravana and Meghanad
to terrorise humankind?

Among me silences in Asoka
and later in A>odhya
she had held inquisitions in her mind
coalescing the ends and means.

Try hard as she might, she felt unable
to unravel the criss-cross
complexity of Karma and free will,
askesis and recompense.

Finding herself lost in the nightmare-net
of the doings of the gods,
demons and humans, she felt at a loss
to locate the norms of life.

As she went on registering the turns
of the Ravana story
v7ith its compounding of the heroic,
farcical and sinister,

ill the plateau of her own consciousness
Maithili re-enacted
selected scenes in their perversity
or sheer comicality.

It now occurred to her, as oft it had
under the Simsupa tree,
that Ravana was a fool even more
than a lecherous monster.

550 Sitayana

And now she was vastly amused to learn
of Ravana’s being caught
in those ridiculous predicaments
of pathetic helplessness. 707

The great Surya could dismiss Ravana
with withering contempt, and
Shiva with a dip of his toe could make
the Titan wail for ages. 708

Both Vali the Vanara and the man,

Karta-vfrya Arjuna,
reduced to paltry insignificance

the rumbustious Ravana. 709

When the Rakshasa cast his leering eyes
on Mahalakshmi herself,
the mere laugh of the Lord sent Ravana

hurtling down to hit the earth. 710

And the hefty girls of Sveta-dvipa
could toss Ravana about,
now quite deflated into an insect
with ten mouths and twenty hands’ 71 1

In retrospect, Sita thought, it was good
the colossus, Ravana,
was cut to size in Agastya’s telling —

and the verities stood firm’ 712

Now hei wandering mind felt arrested
and hauled back when Agastya
began telling the extraordinary

history of Hanuman. 713

Ravana and Hanuman, paragons
of power both, and clashing
opposites: yet between them, thought Sita,

such an abysmal divide! 714

With the Rakshasa, power was divorced
from the grace of self-restraint,
power fed on power and greed and lust,
power galloped towards Death 715

With Hanuman, power was to become
anonymous, unconscious,
accomplish self-transcendence as service,
and be in shackles to Grace.

716

5 5 1 Sita *s Stream of Consciousness

It was balm to Maithili’s listening soul
to hearken to Agastya’s
lucid narrative of Anjaneya’st
heroic and gloried life.

Impetuous and valorous, learned
and wise; a seasoned speaker;
tactful, responsible and statesmanlike;
servileur of the Divine!

In foul and fair weather alike, he had
served Sugriva, his master;
and found in Rama and Sita the twin
Vedas of his religion.

When Agaslya came to the end of his
recital, Rama's queries
had been answered in full, and the moral
had been blazoned forth as well.

Now Rar' i 'rd Sita rose and offered
obeisance to Ag^stya

and the Rishis, and received their blessings,
ere they took leave and withdrew.

The Court dispc.seu foi the day, and on her
return to her apartment,
in a daze of deep abstraction, Sita
communed with her inner Self.

Out of the turbid sea of consciousness
images of Light arose,

and as she fixed her ga/e on them, they glowed
like apocalyptic signs

While the annals of the Rakshasa race
and the Paulastya saga
h'^d captivated the assembly's car
as Agastya recalled them,

the deeper ethical imperatives

seemed to raise thcii warning heads
above the monotony of the tales
of passion, greed and folly.

Settled now amid the serenities
of her austere apartment,

Sita reviewed the scenic-sequences
of sound and shame and fury.

552 Sitayana

as also the counterpointed saga
of Hanuman’s birth and growth,
from mindless violence and wasteful speed
to selfless consecration.

727

'‘Ah this picture . . . and this!” she told herself;

"images of giant strength^

Yet oh the difference, — still the two played
their roles on the same world stage !

728

This Ravana seized numberless women
regardless of place, season
and circumstance, and his limitless lust
asked for constant fuelling.

729

Which husband that was sane would look beyond
a paragon of beauty,
sweetness and duty like the unsurpassed
exemplar, Mandodari?

730

And, perhaps, for such a perversity
like Ravana, lechery
knew neither fulfilment nor satiety
but fed always on itself.

731

Twas his flawed and vicious mole of Nature
that compulsively drove him
to grasp vilely at the prohibited,
and foul and desecrate it.

732

Alas, the pursue! was himself chased
by the f^uries of self-forged

Necessity, and the lecherous pulls
ordained their own extinction.

733

Beside Ravana that wasted power
and puerile magnificence,

Hanuman shone as the lone Eminence
of fiery Brahmacharya.

734

After the initial phase of spendthrift
extravagance of abuse
of power, ^is desire-self was content
to be consumed in Service.

735

For all bis terrible austerities

Ravana failed to secure
from the all- wise Uncreate the supreme
boon of immortality.

736

553 Sita’s S tream of Consciousness

But Hanuman, although he neither asked
nor hoped for any, became
the recipient of many a choice boon,
including incorruption.

737

And Sita couldn’t help reminding herself
that Rama's wedded life lay
poisgd between the dual extremities --
indulgence and refusal.

738

Sita went into a deep trance of thought
when past and present mingled,
and all Time was a seamless wondei-web
of integral Becoming.

739

If Ravana and the miserable
months under the Simsupa,
as seen from the vantage of the present,
could be dismissed as a dream.

740

Rama’s ^ icu-iy over Ravana,
for all Its finaiit>,

seemed less than clinching in the hazy stretch
of the uncharted future.

741

In a world of phenomena governed
by Nature's imperatives
there were these sundry manipulators
with designs to queer the pitch:

742

the scheming ambitious technologists
of askesis who wrung from
selfcreate Brahma immoderate boons
to pervert the course of things!

743

Perhaps, for all his generosity,

Brahma, wiser than he seemed,
gave boons that only boosted the ego
while breaking the base at last.

744

But Sita’s heart of Earth-born innocence
rebelled against a system
that pemiitted random interference
by so-called boons and curses.

745

And recalling some of the characters,
the more bizarre elements
of the Ravana Rajya, Maithili
found her moral sense rebel.

746

554 Sitayana

She was intrigued that the sage, Visravas,
could respond to Kaikasi’s
advances, knowing that the progeny •
would be undesirable.

Wasn’t he too culpable in fair measure
for the unfolding saga
of the foul Rakshasa’s reign of terror,
and her own tribulations?

But this will never do, said Maithili
to herself, and arrested

her out-distancing thoughts, and called them back
to the kennel of her mind.

She knew that such mental inquisitions,
such insistent questionings,
the search for reasons, justifications,
logical formulations,

aye, the seething boil of cerebration,
the thunder-screams of why, why,
the trick of dialectical roundings,
all were pointless and puerile.

But the mind couldn’t be easily silenced
except in times of deep sleep,
or when the indwelling soul took control
and roamed in the vasts of God.

And yet for all her moves in silencing
her mind, while it lay quiescent
for a while, it managed to bounce back soon,
and start its mischief again.

She was vaguely conscious of a cosmic
ordering that shaped our ends,
for without that bond everything would have
blasted itself long ago

But her grumbling mind demurred : How about
the meddlers, the ambitious
athletes of'askesis always hell-bent
on feathering their own nests?

A minute’s concentration effected
a tearing up of the veil
behind the heart, the lid over the mind,
and she saw the Face of Truth.

555 Sita's Stream of Consciousness

The aberrations, the strange contortions,
that had repelled her before,
fitted into slots of significance
and a concord seemed to reign.

Suddenly she felt seized, whirled and dissolved
in the ambient ether,

and >hat had appeared floating alien specks
seemed part of the harmony.

The anxious probings, the lacerations,
the insistent questionings,
the whole gymnastics of the intellect,
all had curled up for the nonce.

She was once more the blemishless Earth-born
Sita, Janaka’s darling,

Dasaratha’s daughter-in-law, Rama's
consort, and Ayodhya's Queen.

All inner aismrbance stilled, all childish
and wasteful rebellion spent,
she fell in the great stillness of her room
the sovereign pressure of Grace.

It had been a tiring day for Sita
Sage Agastya's wide-ranging
revelations, by poking the compost
of the heaped-up yesterdays,

had reopened old sores, resurrected
forgotten aberrations —
and having recovered her poise and peace,

Sita now lapsed into sleep.

Passing from her declining wakefulness
through divers intermittent
siflates ranging from brief spasmodic nightmares
to paradisal vistas,

and on to the perfect peace of dreamless
sleep where the dichotomies
dissolve, and the lone voyager arrives
at the true sanctuary ;

yet one more, and the final translation,
the critical beyonding
of pointers, categories and the plunge
into the Turiya-Self.

BOOK. SEVEN

ASHR>V1VIA

Canto 67 : Holy Wedded Love

Another dawn, and the night retreated,
and sweet-voiced panegyrists
and ^ell-trained musicians sang the praises
of Ayodhya’s King and Queen ;

“O wake up, Kausalya’s perennial joy,
wake up, O warrior King'
wake up, Maithili, Rama’s royal Queen,
Janaka's darling daughter'

Wake up, valiant and gracious Rama,
wake up, O Earth-born Sita,

O wake up, for when you sleep, Ayodhya
sleeps, and all the world sleeps too.”

With Rar.id end Sita, the citizens
of Ayodhya, ali living
creatures, and the denizens of the woods,
all greeted the new Sunrise.

And so the day cessed and other days passed
in the purposive rhythm
of involvement in good works readily
shouldered and executed.

A constant stream of friendly visitors
to Ayodhya from other
kingdoms carried news of Rama Rajya
to the far ends of (he world.

The tidings spread that Rama’s rule ensured
the reign of stern righteousness,
and the (diffusion of prosperity,
contentment and happiness.

The aged had a sense of fulfilment.

the young were buoyed up with zest
and hope, the divers classes eschewed greed,
and the women knew no fear.

Rama had periodical reports
from his far-flung provinces
of the efllorescence of well-being
among the common people.

560 Sitayana

Nature preserved its normative cycles
of continuity in change,
and the winds blew gently, and the rhowers
were timely and adequate.

10

Like the ordered movement of the seasons
that held the year together,
the day’s activities too were governed
by a pattern of their own.

11

In the forenoon, Rama busied himself
with pressing affairs of state,
conferring with elders and advisers,
and sustaining the system.

12

while Sita made a round of the Temples,
offered worship to the Gods,
and fraternised with the common people
in times of festivities.

13

Sita would daily visit Kausalya,

Sumitra and Kaikeyi,
and infer their needs and attend to them
with her sisters’ assistance.

14

Like the brothers, the Mithilan sisters,
a quartette for a quartette :
and they ensured the larger harmony
by division of duties.

15

In the e\ enings, there was no dearth of time
for varied sport and pastime,
for relaxation or entertainment,
for music, dance and drama.

16

The Asoka pleasance, Ayodhya’s pride,
with its spread of green and gold
and wealth of flowers and birds, attracted
royalty from time to time.

17

While the run of the seasons from summer
to spring, skirting on the way

Varsha, Sharad, winter, Sisira meant
a continuum of joy.

18

for the royal princes and their consorts,
the auspicious Sisira
was essentially the season of joy,
dalliance and fulfilment.

19

561 Holy Wedded Love

And the royal garden was verily
a spread of Nature's bounty,
ravishing visitors with the assault
of colour, form and fragrance

The munificence of trees — Asoka,
sandalwood, mango, Champak,
mamfdra, mdhua, koviddra,
pdrijdta, pomegranate

aye, trees that flowered in all six seasons
and gave out celestial scents,
t^'ces laden with rose-apple and jack-fruit,
or haunted by drunken bees:

and their branches heavy with foliage,
golden, flame-white or pitch-dark,
bowed over the pools with their sporting swans,
lotus and lily in bloom.

There we;e well-laid terraces too, and flights
of steps all the pools around,
and the ensemble of the perfections
recalled Indra’^ Nandana.

Some late afteihoons Rama and Sita,
tired of the forenoon’s pressure
of the conundrums of state policy
or repetitive routine,

as if escaping from the familiar
to the elusive unknown,
would seek the much needed release from care
in the heart of Asoka.

For Sita, it was doubly a tonic
translation of the milieu :
frBm palace to pleasance, and even more,
from Lanka to Ayodhya.

That intolerable stretch of twelve months
under the lone Simsupa
and the shadow of the Chaitya Prasad
in the Rakshasa’s garden,

and now — what a great sea-change! — this total
reversal of the milieu :
from the hell that was Ravana’s pleasance
to this demi-paradise !

562 Sitayana

There were occasions unpredictable,
rare, when drunk with apple-juice,
they forgot all past regrets and future
care, and cherished the present. 30

And sometimes, in the Utsava Ranga
of the Asoka garden,

they watched and applauded the dance and song

of the nymph-like performers. 3 1

And the Rasikas in the audience,
viewing Rama and Sita
in their high presiding seats, would exclaim :

'‘Vasishta! Arundhati!” 32

Their life thus filled with the manifold tasks
of sovereignty o’er the realm,
and their private life in meditation,

prayer and dedication, 33

Rama and Sita watched the autumn pass,
the season of wayward clouds
when the fields smile with ripening paddy
and trees are burdened with fruit. 34

One afternoon, having had a tiring
session with his ministers
the whole forenoon, Rama retired early
to his palace apartments. 35

Coming to know of his return, Sita
made haste to join her husband,
and as usual share with him the day’s

round of experiences. 36

Apparelled in one of her choicest robes,
as Sita advanced amid
the charmed spaces of the Raghu mansion

and firmly approached her Lord, 37

there came the rush of a glorious hour,
the scaks fell, his eyes could see,
and cherishing the gift of this vision,

he rose and held out his hands. 38

As Sita, ravishing in her raiment
and resplendent jewellery
and overpowering with the fragrance
that her beauty exuded.

39

563 Holy Wedded Love

received her Lord with joy as Sachi might
her Mahendra in heaven, •
and as Rama viewed his radiant wife
and the coming good fortune, 40

he exclaimed embracing her: “It’s a new
M>iithili I see today;

my dear earth-born bride of many a year,

I sec you haloed in Light. 41

My darling wife of timeless time, what’s this
splendour of sudden glory
that grcatens you to Empyrean heights
and crowns you Mother Divine 42

This surely is a vigil behovely
with the sanction of the gods,
and promises some wondrous birth to come
augment^ne the Raghu Line. 43

You are not Bride, y( 4 U are more than Woman,

O my Sita, Vaidehil
Mother of my unborn son, O Goddess^
you o’erwhelr with rapture! 44

Thrice blessed Maithili, for this my son
you will soon be giving me,
what shall 1 do to show my gratitude,
what boon would you like to have?” 45

Twas a moment of supreme fulfilment
for Maithili as well as
Raghava, and she felt profoundly moved
by his desire to please her. 46

Responding with a smile, Sita returned
these words: “Raghava, my Lord!
my deepest desire is to revisit

the forest hermitages. 47

I wish to prostrate before the Rishis,
the effulgent ones who live
austerely on Ganga’s banks, and maintain
themselves on mere fruits and roots. 48

O Kakutstha. could 1 spend a single
penitential day at least
in the Mandala of the great Rishis,
my best wish would be fulfilled.”

49

564 Sitayana

And Rama, with his talent for taking
instant decisions, replied :

'‘O Vaidehi! so be it: you can leave
tomorrow, and have your wish.”

50

Having thus consented to gratify

Sita’s compelling desire
for re-visting the hermitages
on the banks of the Ganga,

51

Rama seized the moment to reminisce
with nostalgic involvement
about their round of fruitful encounters
with the wise ones of the woods.

52

The wish she had spontaneously expressed
and with lucid clarity,

although it had sounded strange, but revealed

Sita’s quintessential self.

53

She was the hallowed daughter of Bhuma
the patient compassionate

Mother, and she had shared her Lord’s exile
for thirteen rewarding years.

54

The tempo and the sophisticated
mores of urban life, the pace
of living, the petrified hierarchies,
the glitter of affluence,

55

all seemed to pall after the first few months
of return to Ayodhya,

and her heart of yearning went out once more
to the forest verities.

56

Her articulated wish seemed to chime
with her elemental life,
her kinship with all flora and fauna
of the bountiful Mother.

57

And the elect forest inhabitants,
the inheritors of Light,
the ambassadors of the Absolute,
struck her as the living Gods.

58

The drapery of ritual, Ihe soar
of the sacrificial Fire,
the loud reverberations of the chants,
the sumptuous oblations.

59

565 Holy Wedded Love

not these, or not these particularly,
but the serene countenance,
the eyes luminous with the Mind of Light
and the heart of compassfbn ;

it was that simple, austere and intense
way of life bridging ardour
and realisation, earth and heaven,
ti'^it secured her adhesion.

In the knowledge that she was carrying
her Rama’s seed in hei womb,

’twas proper she should express the desire
for a return to her Home ’

The hoary holy heartland of the woods
was her second home indeed
reminiscent of her nativity
in Videha’s virgin Earth.

A retreat, however brief, in the woods,
a meuUaiive session
in the Ashrama of a great Rishi,
would prove the best fosterer.

Rama could at z read the mind behind
the seeming!) strange request,
and his ready response clinched the matter,
and Sita smiled gratefully.

Presently Rama gently disengaged
himself from her warm embrace
with a lingering smile, and found his way
back to the Audience Hall,

Canto 68 : Exiled Again

There was an assemblage of citizens
fairly representative
of Ayodhya’s elite and Kosala’s
countryside population.

Among the gathered gentry were seasoned
wits, conversationalists
and others known for their integrity,
tact and basic loyalty.

Mangala and Sumagadha were there,
as also Dantavaktra,

Vijaya, Madhumatta, Kasyapa,

Kula, Bhadra, Kaliya.

They spoke freely of current happenings
and related with relish
the exciting news from the rural parts
or amusing anecdotes.

It was for Rama and his company
a time of relaxation

when the give and take of privileged talk
brightened up the proceedings.

Now, as if casually, Rama inquired
what kind of talk went around
in town and country about the Royal
House and the Rama Rajya.

After all, said Rama, the reigning King,
being the observed of all,
was a ready subject for discussion,
and even for dissection.

It was proper, he added, he should know
the feeling of his people,
and be responsive to their reactions,—
not just ake them for granted !

The first to speak was Bhadra : “Where’s the need,
O King, to ask us? All speak
highly of you, and especially laud
your killing of Ravana.”

567 Exiled Again

Not satisfied with this blanket report,

Rama felt the worm of doubt
burrow within, and asked with insistence
that he should be told the truth.

“It’s proper I know the unvarnished truth,”
said Rama defensively ;

“for unless I know it all, how may I
rotfify my shortcomings?

No doubt all fulsome praise pleases the car,
while censure, though justified,
hurts one’s self-esteem; but speak without fear,
^ can rise above myself.”

A grim silence descended for n while
before Bhadra found his voice,
but he spoke in halting accents as if
against his better judgement :

“Since you ^nve me no option, my lord King,”
Bhadra said with folded hands,

“I’ll tell the whole truth with nothing left out,
nor aught spoken in malice.

Our citizenry are a iiaxed lot,
and as the mood seizes them
they talk freely in places of public
resort like ^uares and Main^treets,

shopping centres, gardens and pleasances,
river banks, forest retreats,
even in the hallowed vicinity
of temples and prayer-halls.

People praise your wondrous feat of bringing
the sea to attain Lanka,
extol your destruction of Ravana
and his Rakshasa forces;

citizens laud your sovereignty over
Rakshasa and Vanarr
your triumphant return to Ayodhya,
and the great Coronation.

But, then, it is also bruited about —
people being what they are
and given to loose talk — that ’twas not wise
to instal Sita as Queen.

568 Sitayana

The Rakshasa had carried her away
and kept her in Asoka
for a year, and men wonder how you could
accept her as Queen again.

If such be the standard set by the King,
the people ask, what hope for
commonalty — there can now be no norms
regulating married life.

Such is the tenor of the loose gossip
among the people in town
and countryside alike,” he concluded,
and sullenly held his peace.

After a painful pause, Rama turned round
as he reeled under the blow,
and asked the others assembled whether
they had anything to say.

“It’s as Bhadra says,” they answered briefly,
but one, Mangala, added:

“This is but the gossip of the men-folk;
women may have other thoughts.”

“That’s certainly true,” put in Kasyapa;

“Sita sits high in the hearts
of the women of Kosala, who see
in her suffering their own.”

Emboldened by this apt intervention,
the mature Madhumatta
added: “This derogation by the vile,
the irresponsible ones,

the idle pedlars of loose talk and lies,
must be well balanced against
the vast unanimity of silent
love and worship of the Queen.

And, O King, the informed and enlightened
remember the miracle
of the great fire ordeal in Lanka
and laud her as a goddess.

It’s not for us, O King, to give credence
to the stutter of malice
in ignoration of the religion
of silent adoration.”

569 Exiled Again

But Rama, dazed for the nonce by Bhadra s
unequivocal report,

ended the meeting, sent his friends away,
and went deep into himself.

This revelation of the people’s mind
had come with a suddenness
rather devastating, and Rama felt
besieged by conflicting thoughts.

He knew his Sita ; she was carrying
his unborn child, she had blazed
her Truth in the language of leaping flames
' that named her chaste and holy.

But confronted as he was by a dark
inconscience that was the sum
of human folly, prejudice and spite,
he felr his certitudes fail.

Frailty wa<! apt to feed upon itself,
make irailty tnc law of life,
deny the upward spiral, and scoff at
the leap into the future.

The Rakshasa with his phenomenal
might of arms and askesis
was easier to destroy than human
folly, pettiness and spite.

Rama was on the rack asking himself
whether he should abandon
his blameless Queen, or opt for a second
exile, and this time for life.

He was alas’ no private citizen
with freedom to exercise
in full measure the right to free thinking,
•open discourse and action.

He was of the hoary Ikshvaku race,

• he had to keep untarnished
his public image, he mustn’t quail under
the whiplash of this censure.

No way of shedding his Kingship either,
for ’twas not negotiable,
and yet a second brutal betrayal
of his wife and son’s mother ~

570 Sitayana

another rejection must for ever
blacken his humanity,
cast a total blight on his wedded life
and drive his Queen to despair.

Sita wasn’t like other women ; she was
holy and fair, commanding
and compassionate, suffering nothing
while suffering everything.

He had sometimes wondered whether Sita
the mysterious Earth-born
wasn’t at once his talisman and his test,
his brightest crown and his cross !

He could of course reject her; that would mean
denying himself the Grace
and Glory of wedded bliss in exchange
for the crown-simulacrum.

Perhaps, for one like him thus entangled
in the coils of destiny,
the worse choice would be the manlier one :
let the crown exact its price !

No, no, he wouldn’t let Sita, the mother
of the future Kakutstha,
stay on to provoke more comment; nor could
he abandon Ayodhya.

All the spread of green earth would sustain her
wherever Sita might be ;
as for himself, like purblind Ayodhya,
he too was rejecting Grace.

No worse, there was no deeper pouch of hell ;

and having made up his mind,
his heart heavy and his eyes dimmed with tears,
Rama sent for his brothers.

The urgency of the summons brought them
promptly to the King’s presence,
and the Pn^ce found Rama bleached by grief,
a lotus \ ^thout its shine.

Having then hugged and seated his brothers
Rama unburdened himself :

“You are the life of my life, O my own,
and now must >ou stand by me.

106

^ '107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

571 Exiled Again

Tve heard that people in town and country
denigrate me for bringing
Sita to share the throne with me, and this
has wounded my self-esteem.*

You don’t know, Bharata and Satrughna,
but Lakshmana knows it all,
how brave Maithili shared our forest life,
ho% Havana played the thief,

how I killed him and rescued her, and when
I had foolish nagging doubts,
she entered the fire and triumphantly
blazoned forth her purity.

Thus it was I received her in Lanka
my faith fully reinforced,
and we made the flight in the Pushpaka
and were crowned here with due rites.

But now this vile talk is abroad, and wings
its way everyv^here, and I’m
censured for not setting an example
that’s above all suspicion.

And, besides, my SUa s pregnant with
my son, and this vicious talk,
as it gains further bite and currency,
can cause her deep psychic hurt.

An insurrection has raged within me,
mind and heart- have pulled apart,
and although I feel exhausted and crushed,

I now seem to see my way.

It’s worse than a death sentence to say it,
but that’s the tenor of fate :

I’ve sworn to send her away and save her
fi^m this putrid atmosphere.

The first thing in the morning, Lakshmana,
you should take Sita away,
and leave her near ValmiKi’s Ashrama
nestling close to the Ganga.

She has herself expressed the wish to see
the hermitages around
and offer obeisance to the Rishis;
let her now have her desire.

572 Sitayana

This is a crucial decision in which
I don’t want to involve you:
all the opprobrium be on my head —
that’s the edict of my fate!”

This ruled out all discussion and delay,
and although stunned to silence,
an elemental protest stirred within,
and Lakshmana found his voice:

‘‘’Twas my role in Lanka, when you first spurned
the immaculate Sita,

to start the fire out of which she emerged
so scatheless and resplendent.

Again, my Lord, you command me to cast
this Pearl away, who's purer,
richer, than all the tribe of humankind :
so be it, if that’s my lot.

My mother arsked me, when I followed you,
to deem you my father, and
Sita my mother: oh the heartless way
1 must play the filial role^

But let me say this, my Lord; if gossip
can drive you to this resolve,
it will in turn generate more gossip,
no less idle and vicious.

It behoves the royal Ikshvaku House
that, as Tiger among Men,
you should dismiss all gossip with contempt
and take your stand on Dharma.”

But Raghava had nothing more to say,
and his face set and his eyes
bedaubed with tears, he retired for the night,
and his brothers went away.

In the privacy of his room, Rama
found that sleep eluded him,
and he tried in vain to rationalise
his pitiless decision.

He had received her at Janaka’s hands,
and in foul and fait climate
alike, she had shared his life and fulfilled
her great father’s commandment.

126

^ . 127

128

129

130

131

132

T33

134

135

573 Exiled Again

Was it no more than self-love or wounded
vanity or cowardice

that determined the monstrous decision
to throw Sita to the wolves?

136

Did it matter, what now happened to him, —
the ^oss of nerve, the deceit
he w"as practising upon Maithili,
the revolt in Lakshmana,

137

the silent protest in the disciplined

Bharala and Satrughna?

There was no holding back now, for he fell
driven irresistibly.

138

Rama knew well enough how the people -
the same who condemned him now! —
would brand him, and aye, for all future time,
the most heartless of husbands.

139

He had the hunch an inner certitude
told him that Sita would be
far safer in Valmiki’s Ashrama
than in hostile \y Klhva

140

But this was sheer brazen self-approval :

why nol face the ugly truth
he was playing a cheap trick on his wife,
almost stabbing on the sly!

141

While Sita had desired to revisit
the Ashramas and offer
obeisance to the Rishis, she would now
be dumped as waste in the woods’

142

Oh the drastic difference, - as between

Jhe bracing airs of Heaven
and the chill blasts of Hell! - no, Rama felt,
it wouldn't bear thinking about.

143

And he hadn’t given h( - a chance to speak,
or even to meet her judge !

Was he afraid of her accusing eyes?
or their striking sudden fire?

144

There was, then, the splendour of her nascent
motherhood that haloed her
with an incandescent glow of beauty :
he would have quailed before it!

145

574 Sitayana

He recalled how she had followed him like
his shadow to the forest:
such wifely adhesion ! And now he was
wrenching and casting her off!

He had presented a brave enough front
before his anguished brothers,
but violent were the deep-sea currents
underneath the surface calm.

He was under the assault of rival
emotions and loyalties,

his heart’s throbs and the Home’s call, smothered by
the push and pride of duty.

Let the world speak about him what it will, —
self-righteous, priggish, callous,
more concerned with his own public image
than a woman’s bleeding souP

And the more he debated, the more fierce
were the heart’s lacerations
and he cried, “Time, you must rectify this,
and see Sita to safety!”

The Brothers — Bharata and Satrughna,
and Lakshmana most of all —
spent similar sleepless nights, and the dawn
wore a dull and dismal look.

Grief-stricken and reprehending his role,

Lakshmana asked Sumantra
to bring the royal chariot to take
Sita to the Ashramas.

When presently the splendid chariot
drew up before the palace,

Saumitri informed Sita, who promptly
responded and took her seat.

How sweet of Rama, she thought, that so soon
he shoud have arranged for her
promised visit to the hermitages
of the sanctified Rishis.

She was taking some jewellery with her,
and choice robes too ; they could be
offered to the spouses of the Rishis
while making her obeisance.

575 Exiled Again

But the chariot had not gone far when
Sita felt deeply disturbed
by a rush of bad omens, as a*lso
Lakshmana’s sad countenance.

"‘O Saumitri!” she said in sore distress,

“look at the baneful omens
thaVcome not single but in families!

My eyes twitch, and 1 shudder.

The wide earth seems drained of joy, and terror
seems poised to spring upon me!

M’ly all be well with Rama, and his kin :
and may God save Kosala!"

Lakshmana prayed, “May all end as God wills!’

and driving on, they rested
for the night in one of the Ashramas
on the banks of Gomati.

Next moriiing they drove towards the Ganga,
and reaching it by mid-day
and finding it in full flood, they engaged
a boat which rowerl them across.

Soon disembarking on the other shore,

Saumitri almost broke down
as he said weeping; “1 wish I had died
rather than do what I must.

For my part today in carrying out
my Brother’s cruel order,

1 shall be reviled in ages to come
as a piece of wickedness.

But judge me not by the mere look of things,

O compassionate Mother!”

Wtth this desperate appeal, Lakshmana
fell with a thud before her.

Moved by the sight of her prostrate Brother,

Sita spoke protectively:

“Tell me, Saumitri, what hard commission
the King has laid upon you.”

Thus encouraged as well as commanded
by Sita, Lakshmana rose,
and still unable to face her, he spoke
with wet eyes and a parched throat :

576 Sitayana

“While conversing with his friends, the King heard
of the malicious scandal
spread in town and country about your life
in Lanka’s Asoka Grove.

My tongue will not repeat the vile gossip,
and I spurn it with contempt,
for the fire-baptism in Lanka blazed
your chastity before all.

But, touched in the raw, the King has ordered
you should be left at a place
near the Ashrama of Sage Valmiki,
who was Dasaratha’s friend.

You too seem to have expressed a desire
to visit the settlement
of hermitages beyond the Ganga,
and right here is Valmiki’s.

Do not give way to despair, Maithili,
nor judge Rama too harshly,
for the noble soul, like an oven stopped,
is self-consumed to cinders.

You’ll receive from all-knowing Valmiki
a paternal reception ;
and under his aegis, may you endure
as Sita the unsullied/’

Lakshmana’s speech in faltering accents
threw Maithili none the less
into a paroxysm of grief, and
she collapsed and lay senseless.

Reviving soon after, she spoke in pain
and distress, her eyes blinded
by tears: “Surely the Creator decreed
I should be sold to sorrow,

and be the Madonna of Misery,
aye, inc^trnate suffering.

Did 1 in some previous birth divorce
spouses from one another?

Forest life was endurable before,
for Rama was by my side;
but denied his company, how shall I
face my uncertain future?

577 Exiled Again

Should the Sages in the hermitages
ask me why I am banished,
what answer can I return, and can I

then sustain my self-respect? 176

You may not know, Saumitri, for never
have you seen me face to face,
and oftly my feet catch your eyes as you
render obeisance to me. 177

But Rama himself knows that 1 carry
his seed, and my condition
is both delicate and compromising —
and to be cast away now! 178

Separated from those 1 love, and made
vulnerable by my state,
how shall T face the whips and scorns of time
and eke out the days now left? 179

I could e.id iiiy existence by a leap
into the Ganga //aters
were it not that my husband’s royal Line
may terminate with my death. 180

Perhaps, Saumiiri. you misunderstood
my Rama’s real intentions . . .
oh no! I am but a drowning woman

trying to clutch at a straw! 181

Let me not in my sore distress pile up
this presumptuous insult
on the unpardonable hurt 1 caused
that day in Panchavati. 182

That fateful mid-day eclipse engineered
by Ravana, and twelve months
ofjniserable waiting! Another

darkness now, and for how long? 183

But Saumitri, I can see how you feel:

you’ve no rancour tc vvards me,
you’re weighed down by intolerable grief, —
already you’ve halved my pain! 184

Indeed your grief is far greater than mine,

O Saumitri beyond praise!
for still you seem to be matching my pain
with Rama’s own self-torture.

185

578 Sitayana

In the face of this sudden reversal
from supreme felicity
to fathomless gloom, what can avail us
except submission and hope?

Leave me to my fate, then, O Saumitri,
and return to Ayodhya;
convey my salutations to the King,
and also the Queen-Mothers.

Remember me to silent Urmila
and efficient Mandavi
and irreppressible Srutakirti :
tell them I’ll endure somehow.

And, Saumitri, give this parting message
to my Lord of Righteousness :

‘You know I am blameless, chaste and truthful,
and desire only your good.

I know it’s your fear that has thrown me out
lest your fair name be muddied :
if my expulsion can sustain your name,
so be it. I’m quite content.

But, my Lord, nurse no resentment against
the people, but serve them well,
and they will give up spewing more scandals
and ravaging other lives.

For a woman, her husband is her god,
friend, comrade and counsellor;

I will therefore do what pleases my Lord,
aye, give up all joy of life?”

Overwhelmed by conflicting emotions,
Lakshmana made obeisance,
circumambulated, and silently
withdrew to the waiting boat.

When the raft arrived at the other bank,
the sorrowing Saumitri

stepped lown, rejoined the anxious Sumantra,
and casting a backward glance,

they could see Sita still standing alone,
forlorn, and shaken by sobs;
and she too seamed to be looking distraught
at their shadowy figures.

Canto 69 : The Ashrama Sanctuary

So that was the finish of a chapter,
and what next, Sita wondered;
andrseized by one more spasm of despair
she shook like a basil leaf. 196

Some of the children of the settlement
who happened to see Sita
in her extremity of misery

rushed to report to the Sage; 197

‘We’ve seen, O Master, a lady regal
and beautiful like Lakshmi
near our Ashrama, and she is weeping
aloud uncontrollably. 198

She see.jied .o us a descended goddess
shaped in the image of grief :
take pity on this high-souled one. Master,
and give her asylum here.” 199

Muni Valmiki went into a trance
and saw the whole flow of Time
at a glance, and knew at once the Shakti
knocking at his hermitage. 200

He briskly walked with argya offerings
to the gateway where she stood,
and speaking with transparent tenderness
put her instantly at ease; 201

“Welcome, Dasaratha’s daughter-in-law,
welcome, Janaka’s daughter,

Mielcome, Rama’s chaste and ^hrice blessed spouse,
welcome to my Ashrama. 202

Ip my trance of transcendental seeing
I know why I find ^ou here;
you’re sinless and pure and holy, Sita;
abide with us here in peace. 203

In our Ashrama, there are cottages
where women-anchorites live;
you’ll find protection and safety with them,
as a child with her parents.

204

580 Sitayana

Cast aside dejection and anxiety,
receive this argya from me :
think of my Ashrama as your own home —
may your tribulations end.”

This was wondrous balm to her wounded soul,
and Sita, in gratitude

and deep reverence, said with folded hands :

“I shall do as you suggest.”

Now as they walked towards the main entrance,
some of the hermitresses
met them half-way and offered obeisance
to the Rishi, who explained :

“This is the chaste Sita, wife of Rama
and daughter of Janaka ;
rejected unjustly by her husband,
the sinless Sita is here.

It’s your duty to show her the honour
due to her glory of birth
and state, extend your affection and love,
and give her all attention.”

The women-anchorites were overwhelmed
to receive their precious charge,
and Sita, feeling relieved, followed them,
and the Muni went his way.

And Lakshmana too, from his chariot
on the far side, having seen
Maithili entering the Ashrama,
resumed his homeward journey.

In the days that followed, Maithili lived
in a kind of vacant daze
as if unable to recover from
the trauma she had sustained.

From what had seemed summit felicity,
thus to pe dropped and cast down :
all glory fed joy of Empire exchanged
for this dolour in exile!

But Muni Valmiki’s paternal stance:

could Janaka have done more?

And as for her known-unknown Earth-Mother,
she was always close at hand :

581 The Ashrama Sanctuary

in Mithila and far-flung Videha,
in Kosala’s expanses,
in the rough and tumble of Oandaka,
or in alien Asoka :

and now in these invigorating grounds !

Wherever fate, whim or chance
had {)ushed her around, she had felt the clasp
of her mother, Madhavi !

And Sita, long distracted by the thought
of the sudden reversal
in her way of life, felt it a blessing
she was in this sanctuary.

Finding her jewellery mere surplusage
she decided to shed them,
and wore the simple clothing that became
a dweller in the forest

Eveiyoiic was kind and considerate
as though the> would, if they could,
take on themselves her shock and load of pain
and immunise her from hurt.

She paid obeisance whenever the Sage
took his rounds near her dwelling,
and the friendly women inmates, as if
taking turns, looked after her

One in particular, Vasumati,
conversed through her silences,
and when she chose to speak, her sparse words caused
reverberations of pain.

What’s this throbbing sisterhood in sorrow,
what unplumbed depths of defeat,
vfhat hidden continents of suffering,
what lone summits of disgrace!

But Sita, while melting with a mother’s
tenderness, had no desire
to probe Vasumati’s heart of anguish,
and left it to her own choice

And indeed there came a pensive evening
when the sad-eyed one unveiled,
defying her sighs and tears, the contours
of her star-crossed history.

582 Sitayana

“O Sita, I can never understand,”
said the sad Vasumati,

“why the all puissant and omniscient gods
scatter their boons so freely. 225

There was Ravana, who won from Brahma
unconscionable powers,
so he could seize and carry you away;
and sorrow wraps you up still ^ 226

And there was Madhu, who won from Rudra
a Trident invincible;
and coming to his son Lavana’s hands,
it has made him a monster. 227

He has been a scourge of the Ashramas,
and has made them a shambles ;
he has butchered and eaten my parents,
and I alone could escape. 228

Perhaps he reserved me for a worse fate
and let me out of his grasp,
and fleeing from that scene of butchery
1 strayed into this shelter. 229

The things I’ve seen, and heard; the manifold
mutilations, screams, spectres,
for all the Muni’s redeeming presence,
how shall I face the future? 230

This darkened life denuded of savour,
this waking nightmarish life
sans meaning, sans hope of resurrection,
why don’t I get sick of it? 231

Was it, then, beyond the ken of the gods
that Ravana — Lavana —
armed with massive potencies would commit
such heinous atrocities? 232

Like splitting headache this ‘Why’ ‘WHY’ bombards
my half benumbed consciousness,
and it’s as diough I’m ever on the brink,
slipping, falling or dying. 233

The Muni is compassion unfailing,
the hermitresses don’t ask
questions that lacerate, and I’ve in you
consanguinity in pain

234

583 The Ashrama Sanctuary

But the ‘Why’ persists like a dull drum-beat,

I see no sense or logic
in the ordering of this sinful earth,
and I’ve no more room for Hope!”

Sita held in her arms the collapsing
Vasumati, and herself
pusheo' to the edge of despair, none the less
spoke with a supreme effort :

“You speak, Vasu, as sometimes in my blues
I’ve railed too, being driven
by. my oppressive thoughts, and losing my
deeper sense of perspective.

There was a time in the Asoka Grove
when 1 wished to take my life,
yet all changed suddenly, and a bright dawn
chased the darkest night away.

The Sun-Oou in Ins radiant splendour
seems to fill but nttle space,
yet his rays’ scattering brightens the sky
and we see the entire world.

In a life spread over many a year,
the paradisal moments
may be few, but their memory sustains
the long and bleak march of Time.

Flux, not stasis, is the law of our lite,
and if the imperatives
of cyclic change and rhythmic flow ordain
these reversals in our lives,

by the same edict, does it not follow
that we fall only to rise,
we’ce worsted but to revive tom jrrow,
aye, we die to wake again.

Just as it cannot be day all the time,
neither is it always night;
if now it’s darkest night, let’s call the Light
within and redeem the time.

Oases of felicity, far between
and few, stand out in our lives;
they’re our insurance in our worst of times,
so we may safely come through.

584 Sitayana

Besides, this our present life is neither
the beginning nor the end;
we’re caught in a cosmic complexity,
and we cannot see it all.

Nothing is gained, Vasu, by defying
what we cannot comprehend;
since you’ve supped full of horrors, why not cling
to the rare moments of joy?”

Vasumati held back her tears, pondered
for a while and said: “Devi,

1 would have spurned such advice from others,
but it is gospel from you.

We’re fellow pilgrims of adversity
and should cheer each other; and
ambrosial memories do surge sometimes
and shove aside the nightmares.

Beyond the murkiness of the slaughter
of my parents, 1 can see
the light of love in my mother’s eyes, and
the glow on my father’s face.

And 1 remember too the visiting
Bhargava, our brief meeting,
and the tremor of joy that lingered on
for many a trembling day.

But after the Lavana holocaust
1 lost sight of my hero;

I remember only the Asura’s
fiendish grins and killer-howls.”

After this exchange of fevered pulses
a calm settled between them,
and they could meet henceforth in this new-forged
concordat of sufferance.

In the weeks that followed, Vasumati
received Sita’s healing touch,
and knowing her condition, felt concerned
and kept constant company.

For Sita, Vasu was a reflection,
and through their prolonged sessions
of rememberance of things past, they grew wise,
and sad, and humble by turns.

585 The Ashrama Sanctuary

‘'How little we know!” said Maithili once,

“fair and foul seem intertwined;
out of evil, good; out of good, evil;
where, then, are our certitudes?

255

Vasu, as 1 carry my Rama’s seed
in my womb, and all I do
and fhink and feel must shape the future child
the scion of the Raghus,

256

1 sometimes feel, and I feel more and more,
that this penitential air -
rather than Kosala’s fumes of scandal
best suits my predicament.

257

Sure there's some obscure and intricate web
woven by the cosmic gods,
and while the ego exults or demurs,
the self is lost in the All.”

258

Now as die cays grew' into weeks and months,
the serene and holy air
of Valmiki’s Ashrama brought about
a subtle change in Sita.

259

The resonances of the Vedic chants,
the fires fed with oblations,
the presence of the high-souled Sage, all charged
the place with power and peace.

260

She had grown a seasoned stranger to sleep
in those months in Asoka,
and that abnormality now threatened
to become native again.

261

Parted from Rama, wasn't it perpetual

Night with Its dream-sequences
aid apocalyptic vistas holding
her surface self to ransom?

262

Since the brightest day was night dark enough,
even the darkest night had
no terrors for her, for she could invoke
the corrective Light within.

263

Sometimes on nights of oppressive stillness
she would hear strains unearthly
breaking the solemn silence and stealing
o’er the Ashrama spaces.

264

586 Sitayana

From what music of the spheres overflowing
did they tune to earthly air?

The music so wordless, almost soundless,
like an unstruck melody !

265

Listening with rapt consecration, Sita
would feel melted and dissolved
and lose the distinction between meaning
and music, sound and silence.

V

266

Maithili had heard from Vasumati
that the voice so compelling,
the accents so reverberent, the tunc
so subtly insinuating.

267

those liquid cadences emanated
from a secluded arbour
where Nadopasini the hermitress
communed with Nada- Brahman.

268

She dwelt in the far untrodden countries
of the ineluctable,

and when the afflatus was in high tide
she sang with pure abandon.

269

She had mastered her art in the cradle
much as song-birds do taking
their cue from their forest-ranging mothers
winging in the morning sky.

270

Her own father had been one of Nature’s
darling sons, inheriting
a melodic tradition going back
to great Narada himself.

271

Since her earliest girlhood awareness,

Nadopasini had coaxed
her complex faculties and disciplined
the stirrings of her psychic.

272

till the whole world of desires and pressures
had seemed to go up in smoke,
and only s >und remained as the body,
heart-beat, will and soul of all.

273

Sita had once strayed towards the cottage
drawn by a strange irhpulsion,
and had seen Nadopasini’s spiral
of musical ecstasy.

274

587 The Ashrama Sanctuary

circling and rising higher and higher
as if with a physical
reality, and beyonding diverse •
intermediate zones and realms — 275

and her left arm held firm the Tambura,
her fingers sustained the bass
and the^vaves of the awakening bliss
flooded the soul-universe. 276

Wordless, and therefore transcending meaning,

’twas like a heady climb from
the. sacrificial altar, all five fires

coalescing in the ascent. 277

She sat impassive while a glow suffused
all her being, and she seemed
oblivious of place and time, and with her

eyes closed, moved only her lips. 278

The spiralling, «-scending, aspiring
fire-purified melody,

the compulsive cry and call for response,
evoked the answering rain. 279

Wasn't the self-lost ecstatic, Sita thought,
a paraclete mediator
between the prisoners of pain below

and the Redeemer above? 280

The askesis of self-dissolution
in musical offering

now concluded, her lids parted, she saw

Maithili standing, and smiled. 281

She rose, and Sita walked unsteadily
towards her, but smiling through
tears#they forged a deeper communion, like

a mother and her daughter. 282

“Maithili, we’re daughters of distress all,”
she said, "yet this our tapas
being the alchemy of sufferance

can open our eyes to God.” 283

The elder knew already the saga
of Sita’s tribulations,
and as for her own, Nadopasini’s
life had been a blank, a void !

284

588 Sitayana

It was a meeting of kindred spirits,
a doubling of sanctities
and silences, an insurance for both*
in future extremities. 285

Now with the passing of summer the rains
came, and the Sravana month;
and the elder hermitresses could scent
the approaching confinement. 286

One evening Vasumati came in haste
with the news that Satrughna,

Prince of Ayodhya, was with the Muni,
and they were in deep converse: 287

“He has made obeisance to the Rishi
and asked for a night’s shelter;
and the Muni had told the Prince to treat
the Ashrama as his home. 288

On Satrughna asking about the grounds
adjoining our Ashrama,
the Sage related the great Sacrifice
performed by King Saudasa; 289

how inadvertently he roused the wrath
of his high priest, Vasishta,
and how the chaste Madayanti, his Queen,
retrieved her Lord^ from himself! 290

For some twelve years, the King was afflicted
with feet of stone, then the curse
spent itself out by grace of the high priest,

and the King ruled a long time. 291

Saudasa was one of the Raghu race,
and the grounds of his Yajna
now fringed the Muni’s spacious Ashrama

like an auspicious cover. 292

From his words it appears that Satrughna
will d^^part westward at dawn,
and crossing the Yamuna, he will fight
the fell demon, Lavana. 293

They’re still conversing in anxious whispers,
but I feel so excited,

Sita, for this must be Lavana’s end,
and happy times are ahead.”

294

Canto 70 ; Motherhood and Fulfilment

Satmghna’s arrival and his mission
of conquest of Lavana
generated in Sita a tremor

of hope and expectancy,

#

and fond and familiar visions floated
in the lively corridors
of her reawakening consciousness,
and she was hardly herself.

She withdrew into her inner countries
and thought she witnessed once more
the panoramic progress of her life —
childhood, girlhood, and at last

the ordained moment of recognition
in the Sacrificial Hall
where Rania came with twin-like Saumitri
along with Visvainilra.

Her inner eye aglow with leaping lights
took the essenti 'l n'easure
of the months ol wedded felicity
in Ayodhya, — thereafter

the long instructive years in Dandaka
visiting the Ashramas,
skirting the sundry perilous enclaves,
and communing with Nature!

And once more a shudder passed through Sita
as she lived that fateful day
in Panchavati, and her self-forged bonds,
and the months in Asoka.

A fleeting minute out of the pauseless
ebb and flow of ceaseless Time,
and all was then bleak and dreary, without
hope of regeneration.

And another heave of the sea of Time,
and there was the miracle
of yet one more Dawn and burst of New Life
and the explosion of joy.

590 Sitayana

Madhu, madhu, honey, Sita muttered,
oh the nectar in poison,,
the light in the dark cavern, the new life
in the throes of killing pain ! 304

Suddenly Maithili let out a scream,
and Vasu was quite alarmed,
but the hermitresses knew that the hour

of Nativity was near. 305

It was close on midnight when Maithili
was delivered of twin boys,
and she seemed a reclining goddess bathed
in the bliss of fulfilment. 306

Two Ashrama boys conveyed the glad news
to the resting Valmiki,
and anon the Muni arrived and blessed

Sita and her god-like twins. 307

He took a few darbha grass stalks with tops,
pronounced all the prescribed spells
and asked the attending woman to brush
the twin children in due form. 308

The child born first was now touched with the tops
and given the name ‘Kusa’;
the one born later was brushed with the stalks
and came to be called ‘Lava’.

While Satrughna, having met the Muni
and taken the offered fruits
and roots, was resting for the night, he heard
the woman’s intoning words.

Rama’s name and gotra were repeated,
and the names ‘Kusa’, ‘Lava’ ;
and Satrughna knew that Rama was blest,
and he approached the arbour.

“God be praised, O Mother,’’ said Satrughna
offering his obeisance;

“It’s Grace Abounding that I can now greet
this noble pair of Raghus.”

He could say no more, and she was silent ;

he gazed long at the children
reading their father’s and mother’s image,
and the Divine’s ordering.

309

310

311

312

313

591 Motherhood and Fulfilment

“At dawn. Mother,” he said at last, “I go
westward on Rama’s command,
and may your Grace see me. end Lavana’s
blood-boltered reign of terror.”

Feebly answered Sita : “O Satrughna,

‘ti’s a blessing you are here:
may^ou prove victor o’er the Asura,
and give peace back to the realm.”

She apprised him also of the hapless
Vasumati, and her lost
Bhargava, and Grace might now bring about
the long delayed reunion.

Parting after this auspicious meeting,
while Satrughna felt fulfilled
albeit a nameless sadness lingered still,

Maithili exuded peace.

She had ao/.s. wisely, she felt; she had fought
despair and spurned the death»wish
when her wedded life had crashed on the rocks,
and she was a castaway.

The bliss of fulniment in motherhood!

the cry of the just-born babe!
aye, at the very heart of the eclipse,
still shines the resplendent Sun !

The reckless whimsicality of fate :

the pendulous swing between
wormwood now, and the pomegranate anon —
the kick, and then the caress!

The drama-sequence with its gestation
in Kosala’s Ayodhya,
itj turning point at the Ashrama-gate,
has found its completion now!

In the conduct of life, mused Maithili,

’ what was the worst vices
but impatience finding self-expression
through precipitate action?

When defeat o’ertakes the prospect of joy,

’tis alone the askesis
of suffering that distils out in time
the elixir of delight.

592 Sitayana

Veiling her exhaustion, a serene joy
gave a subdued new lustre
to her tender limbs, and she felt the . need
for a brief season of sleep.

When duly at dawn Satrughna commenced
his westering journey, his
introspection ranged from past to future,
and a robust faith returned.

Hadn’t the sainted compassionate Muni
promulgated the Charter
that the Ashrama was truly a Home
for the royal Raghu race?

Aye, mused Satrughna, wasn't the Ashrama
verily Ayodhya’s soul?

And Mother Sita was soul of the soul,
and the new Raghus, her twins !

He fared forward in his righteous campaign
more than ever confident
that the Asuric blight would be ended
and rule of Dharma restored.

Maithili too, now pensively drifting
in a sea of memories,
seemed able to take a wide-ranging view
of past, present and^ future,

and regrets, resentments, exultations
led nowhere, it seemed; only
Grace kept one afloat somehow, like a leaf
unsinkable in the storm.

She was conscious all her yesteryears found
their meaning in the present,
which in its turn forged its seminal links
with all that’s yet to bf* born.

Here on the left, the past, and its tally
of fulfilments and failures;
and here on the right, the unborn future :
the present justifies all.

And so Maithili. tired but contented,
rested in peace for a while,
and now refreshed and happy, was ready
for the tasks of motherhood.

324

325

326

327

328

329

3.30

331

332

333

593 Motherhood and Fulfilment

In the days, weeks, following, answering
their mother’s cry for a cure
of the sad earth’s inveterate Idngings,
the boys grew in shine and shade.

Oft it seemed to Maithili that they bridged
the gulf between her lone self
and Rama on his throne in Ayodhya
lonely in his sovereignly.

The months sped swiftly past the childhood years,
and Kusa and Lava, charged
wrth a power potent and redemptive,
seemed the chosen of the gods.

They were unaware of their royal birth
or their glorious lineage;
and had, as became Ashrama children,
fostering from, the Muni.

And their motner, Sita, while she watched them
grow petal after petal
of their blossoming consciousness, master
the whole art and science of life,

and dare the future with self-conlidence,
she underwent on her own
a transfiguration of her being
as the Genius of the place.

News of the far-flung outside world seldom
penetrated the precincts
of that area of tranquillity
and reached the sheltered inmates.

But there were the rare exceptions, as when
news trickled that Satrughna
had killed Lavana and imposed his own
righteous rule over the realm.

And ’twas the young Bhargava, Vasu’s love,
now providentially out
of Lavana’s dungeon, that brought the news
and made spring-time bloom again.

Bhargava became one of the closest
of Valmiki'o disciples,
and like Vasu herself, paid attention
to the welfare of the twins.

594 Sitayana

For many days and nights in succession,
whether awake or asleep,

Maithili’s consciousness felt invaded
by memories of Lanka. 344

The evil and the good, the repulsive
and the alluring, the raw
and the ripe, the absurd and the sublime,
were all jumbled together.

And the paradox of their commingling,
the stings and stabbings of Time,
the grim perversions and alternations —
and the timely rain of Grace!

The shape of the self-wrought calamity,
the irrelevant beauty
of the Asoka Grove, the loneliness,

helplessness and hopelessness ! 347

While she had, as much by her own folly
as by Ravana’s craven
duplicity and congenital lust,

sold herself to misery, 348

she had seen at the worst extremities
the intervention of Grace:

Trijata, Anala, and Sarama,

aye Mandodari hersplf! 349

She knew all speculations were idle,
there were no ready answers,
and the best of men at the best of times
could be seized with lunacy. 350

Who could have expected that Kaikeyi
the lounging soft-spoken dame
would turn into a malignant fury

and drive her husband ^o death? 351

Ah what came over herself, asked Sita,
that giving up an Empire
she lost her foolish heart to a mere toy
and played the froward spoilt child ! 352

And even worse, for her ravings against
exemplary S^umitri
had only left hei i ^enceless, a prey
to Ravana when he came. 353

345

346

595 Motherhood and Fulfilment

The crest of it all was Rama’s outburst:

ah why had that paragon
of sweet seasoned speech to turn violent
and splash boiling oil on her? 354

There was no end to such introspection,
an(J the past, at once too sweet
to forget and too painful to recall,
held her in a trance somtimes. 355

But oh these vivid flash-backs to Lanka . . .

the sheltering Simsupa,
th'^ marvels of the envoy Hanuman,

the truth-seeing Trijata! 356

There came an evening when Sita, sitting
in her arbour alone, felt
the approach of friendly understanding

steps, and altered herself. 357

It was Vasu, with another trailing
behind, who fell in a mast,
before Sita and cried: “Mother, Mother,

is this how I shouM see you!” 358

Trijata! the clairvoyant Trijata!

With far more self-possession
than she had credited herself. Sita
raised her as she lay prostrate, 359

and tears forcing tears, she found words to say :

“I’ve been luxuriating —
and squirming — by recollecting my life

in Lanka’s Asoka Grove. 360

I wished I could see you, and Anala,
and your mother, Sarama ;
hoV’s Vibhishana’s governance? and has
he healed the wounds of the past? 361

And Mandodari and Sulochana,
those tragically bereaved
exemplars of the holy feminine:

I hope they’re looked after well.” 362

Vasu observed the scene of reunion
with a sensv, of involvement,
and intervened to say that the Dame had
seen the Muni already.

363

596 Sitayana

It had to be cross-talk most of the time,
for the questions multiplied ;
and there were often no ready answers,
and silences ruled the roost.

Later, Trijata explained; “In Lanka,
news from Ayodhya was scarce,
but I was content to see you always
as at the Coronation.

But presently 1 saw darkening clouds,
the scene lost its clarity,
and suddenly I could see you no more,
and dimness covered the rest.

0 Maithili, I worried my Father
for news but to no purpose,

and I was left more and more to my dreams
and terrifying nightmares.

Night after night the same scenario :

the false-tongued ogress. Rumour,
leaping madly with hell-wide gaping mouth
at angel innocence. You!

1 was in a stupor for months on end,
but there was a change at last :

gone the glamour of Ayodhya, gone too
the ravenous Rakshasi !

The dark withdrew, a mellow beauty dawned,
I saw you as in Lanka
yet now bathed in ochre serenity
and glory of motherhood.

This new vision became a settled thing,
and I knew I must join you;
so after a brief stop at Ayodhya
I have found my way to you.

This was surely love beyond reckoning,
and with Valmiki’s consent
Trijata stayed on in the Ashrama
and merged in its ambience.

And of course Maithili was the goddess
of her private religion,
and Trijata found joy in observing
the fond mother and her twins.

597 Motherhood and Fulfilment

They were indeed growing up, putting forth
creepers of New Consciousness
embracing the whole spectnpn of human
ardour and aspiration.

For Sita, ’twas no great matter for tears
that the boys knew not as yet
aboift their likely future destiny
as heirs of the Raghu House.

Hadn’t Rama received his education
from Vasishta, and later,

Visvamitra? And here was Valmiki
taking full charge of the twins.

Now and then the boys would come to Sita
with excitement, descending
from the high Himalayas of Knowledge
having attained some more peaks.

“Could Rai.ia see them, how proud would he be
She might let this passing thought
graze her surface consciousness, but no more —
’twas better the way it was!

Canto 71 : Calm of Mind and Nightmare Visions

After the first few years in Valmiki’s
spacious peace-girt hermitage,

Sita’s condition settled to a calm
of mind, all dissonance spent.

The boys were growing in the robust air
of the forest, Prakriti
herself lending a hand in their progress;
and Sita knew contentment.

Sometimes she would wander all by herself
in the Ashrama circuit
marking the triumphs of co-existence
in environing Nature.

A gaunt tree rising midst a rocky range,
bird-nests hid in its branches,
lusty ku-ku-s in chorus, and creepers
threading their nets everywhere ;

an unending line of termites winding,
wandering, disappearing,
the centipedes on their unruffled tours,
and the squirrels frolicking;

flawed lifeless clay yet fostering new life
in the rooted plants, their buds
attracting the bright light-winged butterflies,
and Sita absorbing all !

This uncanny power of consciousness —
what saw, heard, touched, smelt, tasted,
what recorded, sifted, stored, or retrieved
at once for a re-cycling;

a million columns of pointer-readings
storaged in the body’s cells;
and like the countless galaxies above,
these universes within!

Was it only this life’s experience
that secured recordation
in her memory’s multi-million vaults —
or all the world’s history?

599 Calm of Mind and Nightmare Visions

She recalled Devi Manasi’s whisper
that the interior self
carried the whole memory of the race,
all the past, present, future^ 388

But only the saint, perhaps, could retrieve
the needed bit of knowledge
from Ihe stacks of memory, for ready
use or illumination.

And oft Sita observed the Ashrama
inmates at work or prayer —
yes, here a happy hermitress among
a herd of cows and their calves;

there an elderly anchorite walking
as if wholly abstracted
and gently muttering a Vedic hymn
with its haunting cadences;

plant, creep tree, and the smallest insects
spoiting a vivacious life;
the ensemble of inanimate Earth
whirling their diurnal round; 392

and under the spieaJing banyan seated,
an ecstatic exuding
his equation with the infinitudes
of omnipresent Brahman ! 393

The dull tally of uniformity,
the lifeless routine gesture,
and the feel of compulsive drudgery

were alien to those spaces. 394

Hard labour in league with the mind and heart
became the perfect prayer
of the body’s well-attuned commonwealth
*to the ordaining Powers. 395

No two leaves of the same stem of the same
• branch of the same t^ee, no two
petals of the same bud from the same bush
will countenance mimicry. 396

Everything was different in that world
of spendthrift munificence,
but all that improvisation was geared
to a unifying Law,

389

390

391

397

600 Sitayana

for beneath the stupendous variety
the divine all-seeing Eye
held sovereignty, and ordained the mystique
of terrestrial existence. "

Oft she saw a tall bearded old hermit
moving among the clusters
of trees, vanishing into the arbours
and emerging soon after;

he would look at the branches, nod his head,
or bend to pick up something
from the ground with its lavish colouring,
and stuff it in his basket.

Or he would stop at the foot of a tree,
turn his intent gaze above,
and sustain a speechless conversation
with a diminutive bird.

On the occasions the hermit’s path crossed
Maithili's, his liquid eyes

of compassion seemed to speak more than speech,
and she felt the brush of Grace.

Once only he stopped as though he would speak,
and when she made obeisance
he gestured his benediction, and spoke
as if from the depths profound ;

“There’s Providence, O Earth-bom Maithili,
in every quirk or upset
of circumstance, as in every cloudburst
or sunrise of good fortune.

I watch with unflagging fascination
the ceaseless flux of earth-life,
the countless species so diversified
yet enacting concordance.

Errant as the human species may be,
the greater life must emerge
out of the wreckage of these organic
filaments heaped all over.

Not in vain Vaidehi, O not in vain
have you come out of the earth
by sanction of Madhavi, but only
for hastening the Greater Dawn.’’

601 Calm of Mind and Nightmare Visions

He walked on, as though he could say no more,
nor wanted to face Sita
as she tuned her poignancy jnto sounds
and verbal formulations. 408

She watched the retreating and vanishing
figure of Rishi Mouni,
and as his voice was lost in its echoes,
a great peace settled in her. 409

Henceforth in her sessions of silent thought,
with her progressive success
in sustaining her inner calm, she won

her way to a great insight. 410

The striking short-term causal sequences
lost much of their bite and sting,
and seemed but segments of a larger scheme
powered from a distant source. 411

Dasaratb^/s softness for Kaikeyi,
her own stimulated spurt
of ambition; Rama’s concern for Truth,

Sita’s adhesion to him :

aye, her fateful lapse at Panchavati,
the pitiless iron chain
of consequences, all the sordid shame
and dolour in Asoka :

the monumental clash of arms, the end
of the Rakshasa’s misrule,
the fire ordeal, the brief happiness,
and the second rejection :

and Kakutstha, shackled by the idlers’
fantasies, had opted for
the illusion of kingship, rather than
the claims of Life, Love and Truth!

What was the logic behind this sequence —

* this strange network -of events,
unless all were indeed the divers notes
of an unconcluded Song? 416

Rama had caused no greater injury
to her life and her psyche
than to himself, his name, setting at naught
his concern for his own good.

412

413

414

415

417

602 Sitayana

And she wondered, half-smiling to herself,
whether for one like Rama
or herself, the ‘good’ was isolable

from the good of all the rest. 418

From what obscurely distant powerhouse
was the Arbiter of All,
the supreme Master of Ceremonies,
directing this orchestra? 419

It was now Maithili’s crystallised view
that there was room no longer
for grievances and recriminations,

regrets and complacencies. 420

Why was Rama’s unique life-history
soldered so purposefully
with the strange destinies of Ahalya,

Kabanda and Sabari? 421

And how enriched she was, thought Maithili,
when her self-exile led her
to Anasuya and Lopamudra,

Trijata and Hanuman. 422

No, no, she told herself, no excuse now
to dwell on one’s own setbacks;
the jutting rocks were submerged in the sea.

the arcs in the full circle. 423

And so day followed day, and the seasons
acted their cyclical rounds;
and another year began, and her boys
grew up as a noble pair. 424

She kept no count of time, for the rhythm
of life in the Ashrama
carried her along, making her a part

of the Law of Becoming, 425

and every dawn was a glorious birth,
and the awakening gods
daily greete*^* the unsmiling Sita

with a call to joy in life. 426

It was a mystic evening calm and free
prefiguring, one might -think,
an endless series of celestial dawns,
a new earth and new heaven, 427

603 Calm of Mind and Nightmare Visions

And excited Kusa and Lava burst
into Maithili’s arbour
and shouted together: “Mother, Mother,
a Vanara to see you !”

Before she could overcome her surprise,
there was Maruti himself,
the goM-faced Mahatma, and the same rare
paraclete beyond compare.

Hanuman made deep obeisance at once,
as though ’twas far too poignant
to face Maithili in her ochre weeds
ahd ascetic radiance.

She was speechless for an eternity,
her eyes resisting the rain
of tears with an effort of will ; and she
felt petrified in that stance.

“Rise, Har.unid-i!” Maithili said at last,

“you are the choicest medicine,
the infallible reviving nectar,
for my muted existence.”

The Wind-God’s son managed to rise, as if
still reluctant to face her,
and in the poise of immobility
stared long at her lotus feet.

The paragon of appropriate speech
that could fuse light with delight
now felt tongue-tied still, and thought that silence
best conveyed his agony.

What was there to say? He had seen Rama
earlier at Ayodhya,

ancl had found that sun-splendoured countenance
shadowed by the settled clouds.

He had accepted his own tragedy,
the benumbing wearin<.ss

of the dragging days, months, years that but stressed
the loneliness of his life.

Maruti had also seen the Grace-Light
on Sita’s golden image
in the regal Court Hall in Ayodhya —
a silent accusation !

604 Sitayana

Alas, thought Anjaneya deep within,
sovereignty and sorow there,
and glory of grace and grief here : >yas this
the truth of avatar hood?

Where was the need, he wondered, to spell out
the intricate semantics
of the need for defeat and suffering
in the chosen of the race?

As Kusa and Lava witnessed the scene,
by a leap of intuition
they knew the Vanara for a Power
potent and pre-eminent,

and thought it fit to withdraw noiselessly
from the intolerably

tense scene, leaving it to them to exchange
speech freely if they desired.

“Devi !“ said Maruti with an effort,

“the existential riddle!

Who can unriddle it, O Maithili,
when all is mere bafflement!

Oh the splendour of the Coronation,
the great burst of rejoicing,
the confluence of all the pure waters,
the chorus of thanksgiving!

How could all peter out into nothing,
the taunting lack-lustre there,
the tranquil obscurity here! a feat
of cruel self-division !

But I’ve seen this lively luminous pair,
and I can imagine how
Rama won the hearts of all as a boy
with Saumitri by his side.

I’ve seen too the compassionate Muni
who sits God- like in his calm
of compre itension of an alien world
and its shrouded verities.

Here among the elected silences
and sacrificial spaces,

with the high priests of askesis, knowledge,
wisdom keyed to the future.

605 Calm of Mind and Nightmare Visions

the boys seem to thrive in an atmosphere
charged with power and purpose
and flashing the Spirit’s light •befitting
the pioneers of the Dawn.

Mother Sita, there’s nothing more to say,
for jill language falsifies
by conveying more or less than is meant,
while silence speaks to the depths.

’Twas Queen Tara who had intimations
through her recurring nightmares
of the summary second rejection
and callous abandonment.

I had at last to come and see, — and now
I can set her mind at ease;
may the Divine Lila work itself out, —
and once more, my obeisance.”

Sita smiled through the rainbow of her tears
and said: *‘Go in peace, m> son:
be it Lila or but Yoga Maya,
the divine play must go on!”

The slow passage of the years, ten or more,
had made for a mellowing
of Maithili’s manifold agony,
and she was Mother to all.

She charged the winding walks and wide spaces
of Valmiki’s hermitage
with the grace of her Grace and the aura
of her hard-won poise and peace.

And she would gaze with a rapt attention
at the green and smiling Earth,
all*the riot of colour, change, movement
on the Mother’s countenance.

Was her almost constant smile but a mask,
a veil to hide her growing
resentment against the perversity
of her thoughtless progeny?

She might frown of a sudden, and the sky
would be rent in two, cyclones
cry disaster, and the unexpected
ordain orgies of excess.

606 Sitayana

The humans panicked, gave what names they liked :

flood and fury, erupting
lava from the bowels, the abnormal'
in its brief ascendancy.

458

But Sita was apt to wonder whether
’twas not the Mother frowning
or Kali in her frenzy or Shiva
dancing the Doom of the Worlds!

459

Sita reviewed the course of human growth
in outer and inner life:
the adventure of civilisation,
the flowering of culture.

460

But the excrescences as in Lanka,
the pomp and extravagance,
the scratching and scraping of the fair earth,
the dig into the bowels:

461

the deprivation of the earth’s marrow
of its key constituents,
the plunder of the husbanded riches,
and the draining of the blood :

462

the interference with the bone-structurc,
the whole build of the beauty
of the body of the patient Mother :
no end to the sacrilege!

463

Monstrous apparitions had arisen,
and more hideous ones would rise;
barren murderous metal would usurp
the spaces of living green.

464

and presumptuous unholy towers
might invade the upper air
and serve as petty hide-outs for the swarm
of degraded human ants !

465

Sita could almost hear the Mother moan ;

These v jtless ones, these restless
improvident children, are destroying
my terrestrial balance.

466

I’ve bequeathed to them easy conditions
of living and surviving
as a race leading millions of others
and essaying harmony.

467

607 Calm of Mind and Nightmare Visions

There’s this transparant envelope around,
the sweet air of sustenance
as though wafted from the etect regions
of a distant paradise. 468

There’s the munificence of fresh water
cyc;|ed inexorably
by evaporation from the oceans

followed by cloud-burst and rain. 469

A day may come when the titanic Man
in defiance of the Gods
ar.d ignoration of his own future

scuttles the base plank itself. 470

With a mixture of presumption and pride,

Rakshasa and Asura -
albeit inhabiting the human frame -

will desecrate everything, 471

and the fertile and magnificent earth,
dug up and filled with noxious
effluents and wastes, will become at last

one dismal steriHtv 472

The ineffable nexus that’s closer
than the dancer and the dance,
the wordless sound and its symbol meaning,

new birth and the baby’s cry, 473

the elemental cohesive power
of the atom universe
the ultimate blood-code of the cosmos —
has held its secret thus far. 474

Would Man one day, drunk with Asuric milk
and weighted with Rakshasa
aitnour and overweening ambition,

dare the final sacrilege? 475

Ah set up the witches’ cauldron and brew
the critical concoction
that will fission the atom and invoke

the Shatterer of the Worlds? 476

Tear apart the filmy life-protector,
charge and change and carbonise,
infect the elements with lethal fumes,
and decree the end of life?’

477

608 Sitayana

Man was dowered with freedom, thought Sita,
to be wise or otherwise,
to swear by Good or Evil, love or hdte,
joy or sorrow, life or death.

But if all Man’s stumblings, strivings, climbings
must light up his way only
to a final leap into the Abyss —
oh Grace will act even then !

The passion and the prophecy were spent,
and she felt a shudder pass
through the obscurest cells of her body,
and she was like one reborn.

What was it — fancy, vision, dream, nightmare —
that had held her in a thrall
of such sharp excruciating anxiety,
and had left her exhausted?

As Sita cast her eager eyes around,
the familiar fair vistas
of Valmiki’s Ashrama greeted her
with love, and she felt refreshed.

Having raised her eyes and hands in worship
of the Rising Sun, Sita
intoned the sounds of the great Gayatri,
and went back to her pottage.

Canto 72 : ‘The Song of Ram;i’

It was a bright forenoon, and Bhargava,
as was his custom, offered
obeisamce to Sita in her arbour

and spoke with animation : 484

“Ah Mother, during our walk this morning —

I’m excited about it! —
we saw Narada winging and singing
inis way to our Ashrama. 485

Moody for weeks past, the Muni welcomed
the Sage and pointedly asked :

'Tell me, O great Wanderer of the Worlds,
for nothing can escape you, 486

tell me wh ,/ 1 ■. all this world is truly
wise, righteous, exemplary;
firm in tapasya, conscientious, tranquil
and given to gratitude; 487

who’s he that’s t.ie best of monarchs, learned
and wise at once, valiant,
the ensemble of all excellences,

and the chosen of Lakshmi?’ 488

‘Seldom, 0 Muni,’ answered Narada,

‘all the virtues co-exist,
yet Kakutsthan Rama of Ayodhya
embodies them all with ease. 489

A friend to all living creatures, adept
in Dharma, schooled in knowledge,
chjyismatic, master of arts and science,
and seeped in the seer-wisdoms; 490

Kausalya’s darling son and source of joy,
majestic like Himavai t,
in his anger like cataclysmal fire
yet spraying love all around. 491

A harmony of diverse auspicious
distinctions and qualities,

Rama incarnates high integrity
and beneficence to all.’

492

610 Sitayana

And with several other encomiums
the Rishi briefly recalled
the main events of Rama’s history, ^
nothing extenuated, 493

nor aught irrelevant brought in — the whole
heroic life-history :

the crookback, the twin demands, the exile ;
the war, peace and reunion, 494

all leapt to the luminiscence of life
in the sage-singer’s vibrant
voice, so melodious and all-sufficing :

and the Muni grew pensive. 495

When Narada left, the Muni approached
Tamasa’s limpid waters,
wondered if they weren’t like the consciousness
of pure men with realised souls, 496

and while self-communing after his bath,
saw the felling of a bird
while it was in love-play, and deeply moved,
broke out into rhythmic speech : 497

’O vile huntsman-killer of this Krauncha
just in his moment of joy,
ah how may you hope in all this wide world
for a place of restful ease !’ 498

The Muni thought it strange that his pity
could achieve such rhythmic speech
in four slow spans, the ‘sloka’ imaging
his own spontaneous ‘soka’. 499

When we had returned to the Ashrama, —
the Muni still deep in thought! —
the Primogenitor came and saw through
everything, and sagely said : 500

‘That verse. Muni, was no freak but the will
and Voice of Poesy Divine;
sparked v ith incandescence, ’twill bear the weight
of the tale Narada sang. 501

Guided by my Grace, O Kavi, you’ll see
everything known afld unknown,
concerning Rama, Ravana’s end, and
Sita’s gloried history.’

502

61 1 The Song of Rama

And Brahma left with the benediction :

‘As long as mountains stand, and
rivers flow, O Muni, this song sublime
will live in men’s memories.’

The Sage has now retired lost in wonder,
and is savouring the great
them^ and its resonances in his soul
in a mood of ecstasy.

O Mother, on this day like no other,
our Muni, having received
the clue from Narada and the command
from Brahma, will tell your Tale.

He’s poised in the creative Yogic stance,
and mcthinks I see him still,
self-absorbed in the trance of creation,
seeing, saying and thanking!”

Sita said nothing, for her eyes betrayed
that there was a siege within
of contrary emotions, fear and joy,
and the feel of tears in things.

Meanwhile the Muni, centered in Dharma
and poised in thought, saw at once
the interlinked destinies of Lanka,

Kishkindha and Kosala,

and in a dive into the depths of his
Yogic meditation, he

viewed the story with its concord of parts,
like a berry on his palm.

He marked the veins and the arching contours,
the body beautiful but
almost bursting at the seams, and he could
*see the living Tale, its soul.

And with Maithili in her misery
• crowned in his still agonised
heart of compassion, he read it chiefly
as Sita’s saga sublime.

While the story in its full amplitude
lay stretched across his vision,
the Muni resolved he would begin
where his heart had found its voice.

612 Sitayana

The killing of the Krauncha, the wild cries
of the surviving female,
had set the aged Muni’s heart ablaze
and touched the profoundest springs.

513

Day after day and for over ten years
on end, the Muni had seen
the stricken deer in Sita’s countenance:
the paradigm of sadness!

514

He would begin, then, with brave Hanuman’s
flight to Lanka, his meeting
with Sita under the Simsupa tree,
and the shock to Ravana.

515

Let this Book of Sita — the seed and heart
of the whole — be completed,
the Muni thought; and the rest of the Tale
would be more like scaffolding!

516

Late in the afternoon next day, Kusa
and Lava burst into her
presence with the exhilarating news
of the Muni’s dictation

517

of the tale of Vanara Hanuman
leaping across the ocean
and landing on Rakshasa Ravana’s
opulent city, Lanka.

518

“As the Muni indites,’^ explained Kusa,

“we both write down the verses,
and he has asked us to memorise them
for sing-song recitation.”

519

Off and on, in subsequent weeks and months,
the boys would take their mother
into their confidence, and share with her
their continued excitement.

520

While Valmiki’s unfailing afflatus
flowed into the divers moulds
of the epic characters in action,
the scribes too felt quite involved.

521

And when even the fall-out of their zeal
touched Maithili to the quick,
she withdrew within to her shrouded self,
and introspection followed.

522

613 The Song of Rama

Their antecedents, the identity
of their Mother, their likely
future prospects of Empire were closely
guarded Ashrama secrets.

523

Kusa and Lava readily assumed
that they too were of the woods,
and were content to dissolve their egos
in the common simple life.

524

As she heard snatches of the heroic
poem from the ringing lips
of her animated sons, she didn’t know
whether ’twas hell or heaven.

525

Had she not once told Hanuman, when he
described Rama’s condition,
that she found it nectar mixed with poison?

Again the same joy and pain !

526

And the days passed with the remorselessness
of a predestination
that humans seemed unable to alter,
or even to un^.er^'and.

527

Already it was almost twelve years since

Valmiki had received her
when she stood forlorn near his Ashrama
not far from the riverside.

528

and the slow and weary passage of time
had witnessed the blossoming
of the childhood, boyhood and incipient
youth of Kusa and Lava !

529

The epic, with all its vicissitudes,
pow reached its logical end,
the great Coronation at Ayodhya,
and the boys could sing it all.

530

And then it came to p^^ss that Satrughna
halted in the Ashrama
on his way back tb Ayodhya, and heard
the twins sing the Rama Song.

531

Greatly moved, after obeisance he told

Sita that after long years
he was going to Ayodhya at last,
and would soon meet Raghava.

532

614 Sitayana

The twins were shaping splendidly, he said,
the image of the Raghus;
and he had the certain premonition
they would soon come to their own. 533

He had no special news from Ayodhya,
so he presumed all was well;
and ’twas likely Rama might soon perform
the prescribed Horse Sacrifice. 534

Meant for purification, rather than
mere self-glorification,
this Asvamedha Yaga might unleash
the hoped-for efflorescence. 535

Janaki wished him godspeed, sent v/ordless
good wishes to her sisters,
and a gesture of obeisance to all,
mothers and elders alike. 536

Canto 73 : In the Soul’s Mys^c Cave

The whole day Sita was dimly aware
of rumblings and murmurings
in the dim regions of the unconscious
in the obscure hinterland.

But the hurly burly of common day,—
the unceasing glare and whirl, —
smothered the intended intimations
till evening passed into night.

Now in the quiet and serenity
of the small hours, Maithili
sat alone, as she had grown accustomed,
with a full view of the sky.

Stilled '-.crv. ihe echoes and emanations
from the subterranean realms,
and oppressive almost was the pressure
of union of silences.

In the sacred hush of that pregnant time,

Sita felt she was installed
at the core of things, and could almost hear
the faint beating of her heart.

Twas as though the scales fell, the mystic cave
opened, and she could see through
the dense-packed clouds of phenomenal life
and sight the splendorous Sun.

Sita felt instantly lighter, she thought
the weary weight of the past
hjd slipped and rolled away, she deemed herself
free, ineluctably free.

Was she awake, or dreaming, she wondered;

or a trance, perhapb; she grew
conscious she was the Earth, which in its turn
was the cosmos in essence.

“While a few million star-clusters,” she mused,
“look down from the firmament
on this fair green insignificant earth,
here is the key to them all.

616 Sitayana

All categories of near and distant,
and small and huge, tend to melt
and disappear in the ancient Agni
or the ultimate Real.

What’s this paradox of paradoxes?

I see this mere grain of sand
somehow holding within its secure clasp
the infinite universe.

An atom, a grain of sand, is nothing,
yet comprehends everything;
in a child’s eye, its ocean-depths, I glimpse
the immensities without!”

The crystal clarity of the moment
seemed conducive to psychic
visions, and Sita saw physical Earth
as herself, and Mother too!

It was, then, something more than bazar-talk
or mystery-mongering;
no stale metaphor this, no cover-up
story, or fanciful myth.

Perhaps Prakriti, eternal Mother,
forever experiments

with New Life, and her children oft aspire
to reach the beckoning heights.

Ah here, in this world of the lesser breeds,
the animal law prevails ;
or at best, leaving the beast behind, Man
looks up to the higher Light.

And there, there, in the other world of dreams,
the realms of the Ideal,
the Patriarch of the Order bends down,
ready to extend his Grace.

Hadn’t she occurred age after age, always
as the Earth-born mystery
enacting en lurance for the world’s sake
and trying to bridge the gap?

Looking backward at Time’s vanishing tracks
and forward to the Future,
she thought she s: w herself at the centre
of the Manifestation:

617 In the Soul's Mystic Cave

at once a Ray of the infinite Grace
unseverable from it,
and an atom of the recumbent Earth
awaiting the retrieval. 556

The compulsive immaculate silence
gave the beauty of repose
to the arbour and the Ashrama grounds
merging in the woodland main. 557

A moment of startling percipience,
and she saw the oddity
of her being the centre as well as

the circumference of all! 558

Didn’t she comprise, as the human Sita,
the great hierarchy entire
from the resistant material base

to the spiritual top? 559

At the starkly physical, Ravana
had made a fiendish assault
and lugged her along to distant Lanka,

as though she were a carcass! 560

Wasn’t the physical pain of that outrage
transmitted the world over,
to every crack and corner and crevice
of Prakriti’s dominion? 561

If what happened to the outer being
meant such general sharing,
the more poignant subjective agony
coursed like poison through the veins. 562

But while the sheer instantaneous sharing
was an existential fact,

this* didn’t surge up as fierce consciousness- force
to hold back the Rakshasa. 563

Why did she lack the power, Sita asked
herself, to make effective
her resistance, although she was the hub,
the heart of the world’s body? 564

“Even the soul’s sovereignty,” thought Sita,

“isn’t enough, if it cannot
impose its will on the mind, senses and
the material body.

565

618 Sitayana

My flame-pure heart and invincible soul
didn’t save me from Ravana’s
loathsome and lecherous touch, not/ spare me
from the scandal-mongers’ spite.

That I had kept my inner continents
free from any infection
didn’t alter the fact of my abduction
or the later rejection.

From the grossest material granite —
the seat of the Inconscience —
to the dizziest summits where sits crowned
the glassy supreme Essence:

this sweep of consciousness from the nadir
of a fathomless Zero
to the infinity of the zenith
and its Power and Glory :

all this in the atomic universe
of a flawed human being,
as also in the inter-locked world-stair
from the Dark Pit to the Sun !

Unless Manifestation can achieve
a total, an integral
transformation or divinisation
from Here to Eternity:

from the body’s cells to the Spirit’s heights,
from the germ or worm to God,
sundry intermediate interventions
can only be palliatives.

Since its beginnings, terrestrial life
seems to have uneasily
exercised contrary pulls and see-sawed
between the extremities.

In the early dawn and sunny morning
of my life in Mithila,
everything about me seemed apparelled
in flawless beauty and joy.

’Twas the meeting with Ahalya gave me
a sharp hint of the evil
that lies in wait to trap the unwary
and cast them on the dung-heap.

619 In the Soul's Mystic Cave

This reinforced the vague apprehensions
bred by my dreams and nightmares,
and although bliss was it when Rama came,
the uneasiness remained.

As I grew older, I was the sadder
wiser one, — and woe is me,

I shackled myself by my own folly
and landed in Asoka.

Yet I found then, and later, and always,
that just when all seemed darkest,
sudden Light poured, thereby transfiguring
and redeeming everything.

This has given me a synoptic view
of the sure proximity
of opposites, and it’s more a matter
of making the proper moves.

In the present condition of cosmic
uncertainty, the endless
run of vicissitudes makes it appear
life’s truly a vaL <■*' tears.

There was so much ado before Rama
could end Ravana’s misrule;
now Satrughna, having killed Lavana,
will return to Ayodhya.

But when, O when is our Earth to be made
safe for the pure and the sane?

When will the children of dear Mother Earth
deserve her largesse and love?

My life of manifestation has been
a limited ministry

highlighting the wisdom of sufferance
and the certainty of Grace.

Rama has shown he ca "• destroy evil
in the form of Ravana
and his titan hordes, and re-establish
the meek and the peace-loving.

But the world isn’t still rid of all evil,
for even like Ravana’s

heads, for one cut down, another springs up,
and chaos is back again.

576

577

578

579

580

581

582

583

584

585

620 Sitayana

The world of evil, the sons of Darkness,
aren’t to be merely put down,
but by a new power of alchemy
need to be wholly transformed.

And not until that ultimate battle
is definitively won
can the drama of Manifestation
be wound up as obsolete.

Satrughna spoke of an Asvamedha
Sacrifice that Rama might
perform, and this could mean a momentous
reordering of affairs.

But for myself. I’m drained of fear and hope;

I feel prematurely old
fallen into the sear, the yellowed leaf,
and I’ve no illusions left.

Can 1 hope that this Asvamedha will
accomplish the last breakthrough,
smash the veil between Inconscience and Light
and throw open the New Life?

Or perhaps, the crucial final battle
will be waged another time,
other actors will play their assigned roles
and structure the N6xt Future.

And we may come down again, leaving our
far Home in the Transcendent,
and then at least render whole and wholesome
this errant unfinished world!”

The wish was a hope, was a prayer, and
a benediction as well ;

Sita felt a great peace descend on her,
and the peace merged with the place.

Canto 74: Asvamedha and the^Twin Rhapsodists

When he thought the time was ripe, the righteous
Raghava, Ayodhya’s King,
held counsel with Vasishta, Kasyapa,

Vamadeva, Jabali,

as also his brothers and advisers,
and they resolved with one mind
upon a Yaga on Gomati’s banks
ir the Naimisa forest.

Lakshmana was then directed at once
to inform allies and friends
near and far, and invite them to attend
the forthcoming Sacrifice :

King Sugriv", and his Vanara hosts;

equally Vibhishana,
and the Rakshasa stalwarts; and other
Kings, Princes, Munis, Rishis.

They were invited witli their kith and kin
to witness the Sacrifice
and take part in the high festivities
and ritual sequences.

The famed Eminences, the Mahatmas,
the exemplars of Dharma,
and the haloed seasoned ones were among
the prized and prominent guests.

Then came the time of inauguration,
which involved the exodus
of a population with its effects
to’ the place of Sacrifice.

While Lakshmana and the selected Priests
accompanied the Black Horse
as it freely sauntered forth sporting all
the characteristic«iarks,

’twas Bharata’s responsibility
with Satrughna’s assistance
to make the necessary arrangements
in the Naimisa woodlands.

594

595

596

597

598

599

600

601

602

622 Sitayana

Men, materials and cash had to be
conveyed to the chosen spot;
the Pavilion, and the ancillary
guest-houses and cottages ^

for the stay of the invited Rishis,

Kings, Princes, royal ladies,
and the many serviteurs : the dwellings
had all to come up in time.

“And Bharata,” said Rama, “take with you
our mothers, royal sisters,
and Sita’s golden Image too to share
my sacrificial sanctum.”

Now the black majestic Horse was abroad,
the Brothers had their duties
assigned, and Kakutstha himself headed
his forces to Naimisa.

The contingents of guests from Kishkindha
and Lanka had already
arrived, and they took the lead in serving
the newly assembling guests.

Then followed months of feasting at the spot
chosen for the Sacrifice,
and a populous Mandala arose
in the heart of Naimisa,

Muni Valmiki too, like the other
invited Maharishis,

reached the Naimisa settlement, taking
all his disciples with him.

They had their own cluster of cottages
not far from the Yaga Hall,
and Maithili had also come, brooding
like a lone witness spirit.

She recalled her crossing this fair region
with Rama and Saumitri
twenty-s’x years ago, when Sumantra
had driven the chariot.

It had seemed a marvellous adventure,
although they had in fact lost
their all — kingdom, comfort, security,
and their relations and friends ;

623 Asvamedha and the Twin Rhapsodists

but in the rainbowed morning of their lives,
the risks and uncertainties
themselves, and even the depi^vations,
had put on romantic hues. 613

The rivers - Tamasa, Vedasruti,

Gomati — and the forest,

Naimi^a, had filled Sita with wonder,
and prayers had sprung from her. 614

What a stretch of native magnificence,
all Ayodhya, Kosala,
and the nearer rivers like Sarayu,
and the more distant Ganga! 615

And oh she remembered too the second
journeying twelve years ago,

Saumitn escorting her, Sumantra
in the driver’s seat again. 616

She had feit invaded by nameless fears
when she saw inauspicious
omens on the way, and Saumitri had
seemed unaccountably sad. 617

They had found ready shelter for the night
in one of the Ashramas
on Gomati’s banks, and a hermitress

had taken charge of Sita. 618

That was an appalling night, Maithili
remembered; the future cast
its shadow ahead, but that saintly Dame
had chased all spectres away. 619

As for the thunderclap of the next day,
the death-mask on Saumitri’s
faoe - no, all was past, not worth recalling;
only the Muni remained ! 620

And now Sita was here again, grown dry,

’her life left largely behind;
but Mother Earth smiled the same as ever,
and here was th*e bliss of peace. 621

Day followed day, and the sanctified earth
wore a sprightly look, and Kings,
commoners, minstrels, priests, entertainers
gave life to the Mandala.

622

624 Sitayana

When at last the Asvamedha Yaga
got off to a proper start,
the world’s most renowned Rishis ^ere all there
and raised a chrous of chants.

A day after, Muni Valmiki called
Kusa and Lava, and said :

‘The Song of Rama that you’ve learnt from me
now merits recital here.

You should make your own rounds of the many
clusters of new cottages
and sing of Rama, of Sita’s sorrows,
and the end of Ravana.

The greatness and innate moral beauty
of the theme, and your voices
in perfect unison with the Veena,
must ravish all listeners.

You should preserve the native musical
quality of your voices
by subsisting on healthy fruits and roots,
and avoiding all excess.

Should the King himself — the great Kakutstha -
come to know of your talents
and ask you to sing before the gathered
Rishis, ascetics, princes,

you might accede to the royal request,
and recite the whole epic,
singing for three or four weeks at the rate
of twenty cantos a day.

But remember, my children, all money
is mere dross to anchorites;
we’re content with the simple life, and fruits
and roots; of what use is gold?

Should Kakutstha make any inquiries
about yo.ur antecedents,
say simpl> that you are the disciples
of the Rishi, Valmiki.”

The Muni’s well-chosen words were received
by the ardent minstrel twins
in their souls’ deeper listening, and they felt
quite buoyed up for the great task.

625 Asvamedha and the Twin Rhapsodists

Over a period of months, playing
faithful amanuenses
while the Muni’s creative frehzy flowed
in a stream of poesy.

633

the twins had learned to merge with the noble
hejoic Tale enacting
the victory of Truth and Holiness,
and the collapse of Evil.

634

Sita, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, .

Hanuman were verily

like the coursing ruddy drops in their blood,
and the boys had lived those roles.

635

No wonder their emotive recitals
seemed like the evocation
of the past, all the pity and terror,
all the glory and the good.

636

Rama too heard a recital by chance
and, overpowered by it,
made inquiries about the authorship
of the narrative in verse.

637

‘‘Muni Valmiki,” they said, “indited
this Tale, and we took it down;
it tells your heroic life, O great King,
in five hundred sequences.

638

Our preceptor-sage has taught us the art
of musical recitals;

and, if you wish, we’ll sing by instalments
when the day’s rites are over.”

639

And so on successive evenings the guests
gathered in the Pavilion
ar/d the magic of the twin minstrels’ song
captivated the hearers.

640

And still they gazed as they heard, and their joy
and wonder grew, for they saw

Rama, Sita’s gold. Image, and the twins,
and noted the resemblance.

641

Truly with their matted locks and hermit
weeds and angelic faces,

Kusa and Lava shone as replicas
of Rama and Lakshmana,

642

626 Sitayana

not the King and his Brother they now saw,
but the darling Princes twain
of almost thirty years ago, when th^
left for the woods with Sita.

The elderly in the congregation
whispered: ‘The very image
of the heroic pair, and there’s the touch
of the gracious Sita too!”

As day succeeded day, the epic climb
escalated to great heights;
and there were rumours, anxious whisperings,
and speculation was rife.

And all the time, in the sanctuary
of her little hut, Sita

chased intruding thoughts away, and communed
with her soul’s infinitudes.

But the daily evening recitations,
the minstrels’ magnetic voice,
their charismatic countenance, all stirred
memories of Maithili.

And among those that felt thus galvanised
by the stir of memory

were the Queen-Mothers, the visiting Queens,
and the Mithilan sis.tcrs.

But while the bitier-sweel remembrances
of Sita’s star-crossed saga
caused pain and pity, they also blunted
the incentive to action.

The cruel definitive expulsion
had occurred twelve years ago.
and even Vasishta and Kausalya
had learnt of it but later.

If any knew what had happened to her
they ha 4 preferred not to speak,
and people had been content to accept
the surrogate gold Image.

The great Earth-born’^ life had become a Name,
a memory, a symbol ;
none dared to talk about it to the King —
calumny had won indeed !

627 Asvamedha and the Twin Rhapsodists

And now, this polyphonic explosion
of Sita’s saga sublime!

Evening after evening the ei4ic climb
held the audience in thrall.

The daily progress of the Sacrifice
evpked much less attention
than the spiralling sorrows of Sita,
the incandescent Earth-born !

There were, besides, the strange subterranean
hopes and surmises bearing
vpon the twins’ tell-tale looks recalling
both Rama and Maithili.

But if Kusa and Lava were the heirs,
what had happened to Sita?

Was she in hiding somewhere? or had she
gone back to her Earth- Mother?

Ram.a himself, when on the first evening
he heard the early cantos,
had offered gold to the twin rhapsodists;
but they had declined the gift:

“O King, what shall we do with this largesse
of gold and silver and silk?

As Ashrama children, we live on fruits,
and roots, and shun possessions.”

Presently he felt keyed up more and more
and was increasingly awed
by the poet’s uncanny omniscience
and evocative power.

His face immobile, Rama seemed to be
beyond the dualities,
whether of fulfilment and frustration,
or righteousness and remorse.

And the recitals continued, taking
the massive congregation*
from Ayodhya toMithila and back,
and on to Janasthana.

While most hearers merely felt hypnotised
by the tense re-enactment
of the events of many years ago,
some few fought battles within.

628 Sitayana

And Srutakirti, shrewder than the rest,
inferred the ambrosial truth,
and had the needed corroboration b
from her dear lord, Satrughna. 663

So the wounded one was right in their midst,
and none knew about it! Ah,
nothing could now stop Srutakirti from
forcing her way to Sita! 664

Canto 75; Communion and Reunions

In the orange weeds of a hermitress
as she sat like solitude
aloof, impassive, immitigable,

Sita was her larger self.

The other inmates, and the Muni too,
had gone to the Pavilion
all eager to hear the rhapsodists sing
' the Tale of the living King.

In the evening twilight of curled-up peace,

Sita .sat self-communing
under a tree among the silences
of the woods of Naimisa.

Her relaxed expression gradually changed,
and a slow tension wound up,
and memory unleashed introspection,
almost an insurrection.

How should sh»- sum up the misadventure
of her life that had spread o’er
forty or more years? A pitiful waste,
or a mystic fulfilment?

“Twelve months of misery in Asoka,”
she recalled; but by her own
sustained askesis, she had kept at bay
the hells within and without.

Then the brief season of the holiness
of wedded felicity

in^Ayodhya’s bright spaces, and among
the admired and admiring;

and now, the latest phase of twelve long years
• in Valmiki’s Ashran.a,
and this had been a prolonged tapasya
under the Muifi’s aegis.

If he had been for her at once Father,
benefactor and Guru,
the other Rishis and hermitresses
had enfolded her with love.

630 Sitayam

Those wonderful Yogis and ascetics
going the rounds of their tasks
with an unhurried ease that eschewed/all
fever, fret and impatience !

She remembered the melting melodies
of dear Nadopasini

and the sudden blessing from old Mouni
the peripatetic one.

How many mute unknown Arundhatis,
Anasuyas, Ahalyas,

Lopamudras; how many exemplars
of the pure feminine gold!

They seemed neither obsessively to love
their life, nor hate it; nor crave
for joy, nor cry o’er the coming of pain -
phantoms of transience both !

How different from the city women
lost in the giddy pleasures
of the senses — oh their tensions, tantrums,
ailments, boudoirs, confidants!

Sita couldn’t help thinking of Kaikeyi,
her aristocratic airs,

her lollings, loungings, and her fatal taste
for the crookback’s flatteries.

And how about those in the grim purlieus
of Night where the Asuras
of lust gorged upon themselves, snuffing out
the life-giving Light within?

Then, at the spectrum’s hither end, were those
princesses of poverty,
fed on faith and the milk of paradise
and rendered nude and immune?

What was the secret of the silent strength
and robu'it serenity

of those angels and ministers of Grace
who sanctified all they touched?

The elected Ashrama anjbience,
the rhythm of daily life,
the deeper chastening by the Vedic chants,
the seminal racial myths !

63 1 Communion and Reunions

Slowly over a stietch of years, she had
won her way to a burning
clarity of perception that imbibed
the notes of the Hymn of Peace.

684

She thought too of the Epic the Muni
had completed, transforming
the KTrauncha’s grief into the moving spans
of her own sad history.

685

And, after all, Sita ruminated,
even Dandaka hadn't been
n^aliciously or thoughtlessly cruel
like Kosala’s vicious males.

686

But need Rama, who had infallible
understanding, have given
all that credence to such poisoned chatter
as though ’twas scripture itself?

687

Or, had lie i Jl his hands forced, why didn't he
come away him.velf with her,
installing Bharata or Lakshmana
or Satrughna on the throne?

688

Sita now reminded herself sharply --
as so many times before --
how ’twas her immaturity that had
purchased all that misery :

689

not only the blight in Asoka Grove,
but the war in Lanka too,
and the tears of bereaved mothers, widows,
the aged and the orphaned.

690

“This will never do^'’ she chided herseil,
the mind in its turbulence
ctvild indulge in vagabond wastefulness,
and razor-like cut both ways.

691

Nothing was gained by opening old wounds,

' or prodding or probing them ;
and 'twas foolish to surrender once more
to the blinding’illusions:

692

“If joy with its excess cloys and sickens
the appetite, the starkness
of misery grown familiar too long
loses its rancour and sting.

693

632 Sitayana

Ah the mind, when it’s sovereignly centered
in the stillness of the soul,
sees all and knows all, and is unafraid
of Time’s vagaries of play.

694

Rama rejected me at Lanka, then
seated me on his lap, then
cast me out again, and now seems to have
installed my golden Image!

695

The Mother of Illusion is churning,
out of the transient sea
of phenomena, an endless series
of venoms and elixirs.

696

How can 1 isolate a chance bubble
from all the rest of the swell
and roar, the ebb and flow, in the cosmic
oceanscape of varieties?

697

All’s well, indeed — when I see with the gift
of the vision the Muni

has opened in me . . . peace! I hear footsteps:
it’s early . . . who can it be?”

698

Sita strained her eyes at the wicker-gate
and fixed her curious gaze
on the coming phantom of a sister . . .
unbelievable, but true!

699

Breaking down utterly, 'Srutakirti
fell on the ground, and Sita,
o’ercoming her surprise, raised her sister,
spoke kindly, and brought her round.

700

There was little on Sita’s side to say,
but Srutakirti, having
revived quickly, spoke on a wide compass
of subjects touching them both.

701

All three sisters had become mothers too :

Mandavi’s sons were Taksha
and Pushkafa; and her own princely pair,

Subahu, Satrughati.

702

And Urmila had two boys, Angada
and Chandraketu : happy,
happy, happy pairs, and now four in all,
like the Raghava quartette.

703

633 Contmunion and Reunions

She had been separated herself, said
Srutakirti, for twelve years
from Satrughna, when he kiljed Lavana
and ruled over his Kingdom.

Now that he was back, ’twas from him she knew
about Sita’s askesis

in Vjflmiki’s Ashrama: “What playthings
are we all to wanton Fate!”

Although Sita didn’t make any pointed
inquiries, Srutakirti

knew them by her intuition and answered
With understanding and tact.

“You wouldn’t believe, Sita,” she confided,

“how with your hush-hush going
away, our down-to-earth spontaneity
has withdrawn from Ayodhya.

And Rama is become a prisoner
in his self-forged loneliness
and has made himself a burnt offering
to his stone image, Dharma !”

Having blurted this out in a spasm
of sudden irritation,

she broke down again, and the hapless ones
hugged and consoled each other.

Her armour of isolation having
been thus pierced, some others too
found it feasible to meet Maithili
and revive the former links.

’Twas an effort, though, for the dividing
walls of silence and distance
an^ lack of authentic news had congealed
the play of feeling and thought.

Some of these meetings were psychically
’disturbing and exhausiing,
and if Kausalya could only embrace
and cry in her helplessness,

and Kaikeyi’s spurt of sincerity
failed to find the proper words,

’twas Sumitra’s healing touch that transformed
tears into the touch of Grace.

634 Sitayana

Mandavi’s tell-tale leap of happiness
needed no explication,
and Urmila’s mystic gaze seemed to, see
more than it cared to reveal.

One evening, Trijata arranged to bring
Sarama and Anala,

who had come with Vibhishana, to meet
Maithili in her arbour.

Lanka was thriving, and Mandodari
and Sulochana had found
their inner peace and their positive roles
in the new King’s governance.

“Lanka is another Ayodhya now,”
said Sarama, “and, I hear,

Kishkindha qualifies as well ; only
Ayodhya isn’t Ayodhya !”

Anala interposed : “What do we know.
Mother, about the obscure
intentions of the Divine? Ayodhya —

Rama Rajya — where are they?”

Trijata took a deep breath and exclaimed;

“The Divine isn’t cabinned in
space or time, but in the pure human heart
which is the Lord’s sanctuary!

Yet see the long-suffering Maithili,
the cruelly rejected I

Aye, Ayodhya has cast her out, a Pearl
far richer than all its past.”

Sita firmly intervened ; “A truce, friends,
to all these inquisitions;
caught between yesterday and tomorrow,
we wriggle and know nothing.

We’re wrong to treasure snug security
and bright trinket-achievement;
we’ve somitimes to lie low, bear all, and sport
abhaya: that’s tapasya."

“Tapasya!” echoed Vibhishana ’s Queen;

“that fits my sister aS well,
the blameless ochre-robed Mandodari
wholly centered in the Self.

635 Communion and Reunions

But have you heard the unbelievable?

In the new dispensation
Surpanakha herself has change<j a lot,
and haunts Chaitya Prasada?”

That other paragon of rectitude
and feminine grace, Tara,
paid a firief visit to Sita’s arbour
and conveyed her speechless love.

At last Sita herself, with the Muni’s
permission, initiated
visits to two of the hermitages
in the sprawling Mandala.

Rama’s invitation to the great ones,
the Masters of Askesis,
had brought to Naimisa Visvamitra,

Agastya and Gautama.

Like many other visiting Rishis,
these had their separate huts
and attended the sacrificial rites
whenever Vasishta called

Late one night, Vasu guided Maithili,
first to Gautama’s arbour
where the ageless and serene Ahalya
gave her a protective hug :

“Ah Sita, 1 met you and your sisters,
all bathed in your bridal bliss,
a few days after my resurrection
and reunion with my Lord.

1 saw even then a cloud far distant,
no bigger than a thumb’s size,
and^jrayed it would recede and disappear:
alas, we’re playthings of fate.

I’m glad to see you again, on the eve
of the climactic moment
in your life, when the world wins you again,
or the Mother reclaims you!”

In Agastya’s secluded hermitage,

Sita met Lopamudra
and made obeisance and sat at her feet :
and silence reigned for a while.

636 Sitayana

Then the fabulous hermit-heroine
gathered the prostrate Sita
and spoke caressingly; ‘T knew it §11
when you saw me years ago.

Woman, woman, her name is suffering,
and she needs must play her role,
and humanise and divinise the world
of Man— of destructive Man!

My husband read the future, gave Rama
a quiverful of deadly
arrows, and later, on the battlefield,
the potent ‘Hymn to the Sun.’

But Maithili, with my poor woman’s heart
of compassion, what could 1,
except beat back my vague apprehensions
and pray, and hope for the best?

Goodbye, my child,— the worst is yet to be,
and that’s the best; 0 my child,
my bosom as a bed will receive you,
and heal your wounds for ever.”

Just then walked in Arundhati, as if
there was an assignation:
and she embraced Sita in all the warmth
of adoration and love.

“Not you, Sita,” said the sainted Shakti,

“but we the elders are blest:
we see you in your blinding radiance
prefiguring the New Dawn.”

A great deal moved, and somewhat shaken too,
Maithili traced back her steps
and was in her sanctuary once more
awaiting the nameless Tryst.

Canto 76; Sita’s Vindication ynd Withdrawal

And another day, and another span
of the saga projecting
the itinerary in Dandaka,
and on to Panchavati.

742

As more days followed, one fateful evening
the involved rhapsodist twins
wafted the surrendered congregation
to the Asoka pleasance.

743

Once had a daughter of Mithila wept
confined to the petty space
under the Simsupa; and ten thousand
pairs of eyes now streamed forth tears.

744

A Monkey had made a spectacular
leap, setting Lanka on fire :
and ten thousand listeners now enacted
those feats in their minds again.

745

Then on the last day of the recital,
the sanguinary conflict
having ended in triumph for Rama,
what remained bar the shouting?

746

And yet, when the cherubic twin minstrels
startlingly reversed the flow
of the music, making it crude and harsh
with Rama frowning, fuming.

747

and mouthing the abusage of distrust
at the gold-splendoured Sita,
ten* thousand human hearts felt the deep wound
and gazed at the high rostrum.

748

Kakutstha’s face was tense and almost pale ;

and meanwhile the rhapsodists
changed the tune jgain, and sang of Sita’s
feat of fire-vindication.

749

The rapt audience in the Pavilion
jam-packed to capacity
gave out a tremendous sigh of relief
and a thunderous applause.

750

638 Sitayana

The youngsters now continued their singing,
and the happy Rasikas
in their imagination felt carried
in the air-car, Pushpaka.

751

The touching reunion with Bharata —
the homecoming — the welcome —
the crowning of Rama and Janaki —
and the general rejoicing!

752

When the splendid relation of events
rounded itself to a close,
it was like the calm after a prolonged
exposure to monsoon rains.

753

Relieved from the intolerable strain
of the last sequence of hours,

Rama took a decision and sent word
to the revered Valmiki :

754

‘i can see that the twins are my own sons,
and their mother is Sita;
should you permit her coming, O Muni,
that would be appropriate."

755

The Messengers returned with the Muni’s
consent, and Rama announced
that next morning Sita would come herself
and attend the Pavilion.

756

And Rama invited all those present —

Kings, Sages and citizens —
to assemble in the Hal! in full force
and witness the great event.

757

After a night^s suspense, when early dawn
shone forth in all its glory,
the festooned sacrificial Pavilion
began filling up quickly.

758

Twas an assemblage without parallel,
and Ramci received and led
the Holy Eminences to their own
duly appointed high-seats.

759

Like bright stars on a clear sky, the Rishis
sat austere and radiant :

Vasishta, Gautama, Visvamitra,

Narada, Dhirgatamas;

760

639 Sita^s Vindication and Withdrawal

Durvasa, Chyavana, Satananda,

Agastya, Markhandeya,

Bharadvaja, Garga, Katya yajia,

Jabali, Vamadeva; 761

also Pulastya, Sakti, Maudgalya,

Suyajna and Suprabha :
the Rishipatnis too, Arundhati,

Ahalya, Lopamudra; 762

and other witnesses of the Spirit
like Gargi Vachaknavi,
the Venerable Devi Manasi,

and Mother Bhumambika. 763

And the Queen-Mothers and royal ladies
had their enclosure apart :
and so had the visiting Rakshasa
and Vanara royalty. 764

And, of course, the choice representatives
of the classes, professions
and the commonalty of Kosala:
they were all collected there. 765

At this time of morning in Naimisa,
when after a sleepless night
of introspection and rumination

Sita rose cloaked in silence, 766

she wore neither luxuriant raiment
nor fabulous jewellery;
ihe mild saffron-hued garment became her,
matching her aura sublime. 767

She first paid obeisance to the Muni
her benefactor-father

who blessed her with moist eyes and, as always,

with sovereign understanding. 768

On being informed by the Messengers
that the vast congregation
was waiting like a massive mountain-range

lying tense and immobile, 769

Muni Valmiki started with quick steps,
and Maithili trailed behind,
her head bent down, her palms joined together,
and her eyes pouring hot tears:

770

640 Sitayam

and as she closely followed the Muni
like the Veda shadowing
Brahma the Selfcreate, they were gr/ieted
by a spontaneous applause. 771

The melting spectacle of saffron-robed
Sita evoked spasmodic

outbursts: “Godspeed, Rama!” “Godspeed, Sitai”,

“Godspeed, Rama and Sita!” 772

Walking past the expectant assemblage
of admiring, curious,
awed, anxious, prayerful, penitential
men, women, even children : 773

the choice citizenry of Kosala
(some tongue-tied remembering
their own guilt of foul-thinking and loose talk).

the thousands of visitors : 774

the ochre eminences, the prophets,
high-priests, potentates, princes,
the exemplars of feminine charm, wit, —
or sufferance, endurance ; 775

a wide spectrum of traders, artisans,
battle-weary veterans,
the simple commoners, the rootless ones,
yes, the disprivileged too! 776

Maithili was walking in the shadow
of the Muni, and all eyes
were turned on her, she was the sole observed
of the huge congregation. 777

Her mind now stationed in ocean-stillness
had left hopes and fears behind,
and amidst all this unwanted display
and thrust of the dramatic, 778

Sita withdrew into her deeper self
and let Hr mind travel back
and back along fond memory’s roadways
but purged of all emotion. 779

As though the old mechanism of Time
had sustained a reverse kick,
all Sita’s yesterdays and yesteryears
filed past her inner vision.

780

641 Sita's Vindication and Withdrawal

And so from that Asvamedha background,

Sita’s Mind of Light switched back
and raced o’er the years of tranquillity
in Valmiki’s Ashrama.

781

In retrospect, ’twas the subdued twilight
of the gods, past the present,
and past the boyhood, childhood and advent
of Rama’s wonderful sons;

782

the wormwood isolation preceding
the Muni’s ready welcome,
the antecedent despair following

Saumitri’s stark confession;

783

the winkless night she spent near Gomati,
the silent ill-starred journey
from Ayodhya greeted by ominous
sights and sounds all the way long;

784

and the ^ari^ morning deceitful start,
the overnight decision,
a summary betrayal in response
to the rumour and scandal!

785

Unmindful of li>e teeming multitude
and the queered expectancy,
the engines of Maithili’s consciousness
speeded with the reverse gear.

786

A swift glance at the brief felicity
of their perfect wedded life
after the auspicious Coronation
on their return from Lanka:

787

Ayodhya and Kishkindha and Lanka :

the panoramic air- view :
an4 those minutes of infernal anguish
ere her leap into the fire;

788

a petrifying confusion of shapes,

•Rakshasa and Vanaia,
in horrendous death-grapple — and Rama,

Saumitri in lion-roles!

789

Even the soul’s inner eye felt blinded
by the enormities, and
the ear was deafened by cries of widows
and hapless orphaned children ;

790

642 Sitayana

Mandodari, Dhanyamalini, and
Sulochana, how many ;
and alas for the bereaved of the worjd,
the mothers, sisters, all, all! 791

Then past the creeping miserable months
under the Simsupa tree,
the sword of Ravana hanging above
and ready always to strike. 792

What images of the great and the good,

Ahjaneya, Trijatal —
and the misshapen wardresses were lost
in oblivion’s gaping jaws.

Maithili now grew obscurely conscious
of the laureate Muni
giving her a vast compassionate look
and reaching a decision.

Advancing to Rama’s august presence
pushing gently through the crowd.

Muni Valmiki, Sita’s protector,
spoke clearly for all to hear :

“O King, Dasarathi! this same Sita,
righteous, loyal to her vows,
was left abandoned near my Ashrama
because evil tongues had wagged.

These exemplary twins that Sita bore
are verily your own sons;
pledging my tapasya, J affirm this
as unquestionable Truth.”

While that supreme master of measured speech
held the attention of all,

Maithili stood serene and statuesque,

as if waiting uninvolved, 798

and as her mind winged her far far away,
she saw herself yet once more
as the lont dove seized by the ten-hooded
abominable serpent : 799

Lanka monstrous with his hydra-headed
crown of five and five egos
self-justifying self stultifying —
the dark Rakshasa reptile!

793

794

795

796

797

800

643 Sita 5 Vindication and Withdrawal

A tremor of intense pain passed through her
at the thought of Jatayu
the aged Vulture-King who barred the way
of the Robber-King in vai^.

In her sheer perversity of folly,
alas, she had chased away
her ftivincible guardians — her dear Lord,
and the blameless Saumitri.

The Muni’s word^ now seemed to be surcharged
with a high sincerity,
an apocalyptic intensity
and the heat of urgency :

“1 don’t think 1 ever uttered a lie
in the whole course of my life,
and I've never sinned in deed, word or thought —
1 stake all on her behalf.

As she ‘ IvK,:! forlorn near my hermitage
1 saw her tell-t:de Sun-like
purity, and gave asylum to her,
and I've watched her all these years.

Dear to you a: ^he was, O Raghava,
and knowing her innocent,
still you gave weight to the world’s abusage
and chose to cast her away.

But she's truly the soul of purity,
and her husband is for her
the God of her scripture; and she's herself
the Testament of her Truth."

After a quick glance at sainted Sita,
the saffron- robed paragon
of womanhood, Ayodhya’s King, Rama,
made answer with folded hands:

"O all-knowing Muni, what you’ve said now
• does more than sat: .fy me.

Once before she blazed forth the Truth for all
to see, and I tdok her back."

But Sita didn’t hear, for she was thinking
of Khara’s fourteen thousand,

Surpanakha’s wiles and menacing lusts,
the back-lash from Saumitri!

644 Sitayana

Another backward drift, and Maithili
was revisiting the woods
and recalling those adventurous years
and memorable meetings :

811

Lopamudra at Rishi Agastya’s,
the visits to Sutikshna’s
once early when they entered Dandaka
and once again much later,

812

and in between, the wandering exiles
had happily made the round
of the hoary ones in the numberless
but scattered hermitages.

813

A spasm of intense pain passed through her
as she recalled Viradha
the Gandharva, born as a Rakshasa
to die at Raghava’s hands!

814

How soothing, cleansing, invigorating,
thought Sita, to revisit

Sage Atri’s, meet Sati Anasuya
and feel renewed in spirit !

815

Then the pretty Chitrakuta idyll,

Bharata’s noble gesture,
and so to Bharadvaja’s Ashrama,
and Guha’s ministering . . ,

816

Now faster and faster the seconds raced,
the exile was forgotten,

Sita remembered friendly Ayodhya
and her own splendid sisters.

817

Ah there had never been a Kaikeyi,
no harsh promises to keep,
no hunchback around, no Coronation
to Provoke her twisted soul !

818

A brief look at the long-past green meadows
of the bliss of married love, —
and Sita sjl^ung her consciousness towards
well-beloved Mithila.

819

Look there, Ahalya, forever waiting
for her redeemer, Rama ;
the approach of his steps could light the spark
where reigned lifelessness before!

820

645 Sita*s Vindication and Withdrawal

Once more in Janaka’s benevolent
realm; ’twas the same as before,
a heaven on earth in love, aJid light, and
largesse: greenness greeted her!

The wedding of the Lord and his Consort,
the pure bliss of communion —
the prelude to the marriage, the bride-price,
the stringing of Shiva’s Bow !

And there loomed beyond the mists of the past
the formidable Rishi,
the unique instrument of Providence,

Kausika Visvamitra . . .

Those visits to the Ashramas around
Mithila, and encounters
with ambassadresses of the Spirit
like Manasi of the Dome!

Hazier and hazier seemed the scene,
the girlhood and childhood years:
the flowering in slow unperceived ways
of her feminip': psyche . . .

But hark! Rama seemed to be speaking still,
addressing respectfully
the venerable Muni, but also
loud enough for all to hear :

“1 vouch that the times we lived together
essaying the holiness
of wedded Love were a felicity
beyond cavil or blemish.

But vicious scandal erupted again,
and knowing her blemishless,

I ^ill cast her off : I seek forgiveness,

O Muni, for my action.

I. accept these twins br^ore all the world
as my sons, Kusa, Lava ;
and ril receive Vaidehi too, when she
reaffirms her purity.”

The electrically charged Assembly
of Sages, Kings, Purohits,

Rishipatnis, hermitresses, traders,
artisans, commonalty :

646 Sitayana

and the invisible Vasus, Maruts,
and the celestial singers
hovering above and blotting the sky /
like a massed benevolence :

the residents of all earth, all heaven,
and the entire realm between,
appeared to have converged there to witness
the Apocalypse of Truth.

The very elements seemed desirous
of enhancing the moment,
and the Wind-God wafted a gentle breeze
dispensing sweetness and light.

Rama was reaching the end of his speech :

he was asking the Muni’s
forgiveness; he was accepting the twins;
but as for herself, — no, no!

What was the King her Husband waiting for?

Did her marble purity,
a. Fire that burnt Havana’s might of arms,
need further attestation?

Goodbye, then, to dear visible Nature,
the rich flora and fauna,
the many-hued and polyfoliate
splendour of Earth-existence!

What an infinity of bewitching
improvisations of shape,
substance, colour, voice, size, motion, life-style
Goodbye to the darlings all !

She lived again for a beatific
instant that seemed eternal
the mystical uniqueness of her birth,
from the womb of Mother Earth;

she felt the climactic moment draw near,
and a tremendous inner
transfiguration greatened her being
and ordained her decision.

She saw with a single arching movement
of her luminiscent eyes
that all were present — her well-wishers all,
and her mothers, sisters, friends;

647 Sita*s Vindication and Withdrawal

and Raghava, Lakshmana, Bharata,

Satrughna and Hanuman ;
and her dear sons, and Munj^Valmiki;
and she bowed, and swore her faith : 841

‘‘Were it the Truth, my mind gave thought to none
except my Lord, Raghava,
may Madhav’s Spouse, my divine Mother,
take me back to her Abode. 842

Were it true that in thought, word and action
I’ve always worshipped Rama,
may Madhava’s Spouse, my divine Mother,

take me back to her Abode. 843

Were this I say true, that I know nothing
greater than my Raghava,
may Madhava’s Spouse, my divine Mother,
take me back to her Abode.” 844

O wonaer ot wonders, O miracle
surpassing all miracles :
for, even as Vaidehi in her trance
of absolute surrender 845

raised her resonant voice to the Mother,
the ground opened at her feet,
the Goddess Madhavi seized Maithili
in her protective embrace, 846

and as the awed celestials rained flowers
in an unceasing shower,

Maithili shared Madhavi’s throne as it

disappeared under the Earth. 847

For the denizens of the upper air,
this was Sita’s transcendent
hsur of vindication and victory,

and they sang a Hymn of Praise. 848

But the tens of thousands in the great Hall
seemed stupefied by surprise,
and divers emotions battled within,
and Time for a while stood still.

849

Canto 77 ; Her Grace Abiding

Since the moment of the apocalypse
when the radiant Earth-born
was reclaimed by Madhavi in response
to her daughter’s piercing cry,

Rama sat miserable, checkmated,
his head bent, his eyes misty,
his face drained of blood, his mind tossed between
grief and rage, till he burst out:

“Ah my Sita — beautiful as Lakshmi —
has vanished of a sudden ;
never before have 1 so reeled under
the shock of pain and defeat.

Once I got her back from beyond the seas :

then why not now from the Earth?

Didn’t the frightened Ocean God let me lay
a causeway across the main ?’’

Rama in his towering resentment
was terrible to behold,
and Sage Vasishta rose at once and said :

“O King, hold back your anger.

You have been the unconscious architect
of a wide-sweeping action
involving the destinies of Devas,

Rakshasas and humankind.

Blessed by Rishyasringa, Dasaratha's
putreshti led to your birth,
and in two weeks Visvamitra trained you
for your redemptive mission.

Then the resurrection of Ahalya,
the breaking of Shiva’s Bow,
the marriage to Janaki the Earth-born,
the new Dawn in Ayodhya !

Seminal events are intricately,
if invisibly, dovetailed
like a web of mingled yarn ranging from
purest white to starkest dark.

649 Her Grace Abiding

It is the way of wisdom to acquiesce
in what the Gods have ordained ;
as for Sita, her role having eroded,
she has withdrawn from the stage.

The imperatives of Dharma alone
ha\e moulded and ruled your life:
where’s the room, then, for the play of anger
or personal preference?

The Asvamedha has ended, O King,
your princely sons have joined you,
ihe sainted Maithili reigns in our hearts,
and there’s nothing here for tears.”

The High Priest resumed his seat, but the clouds
yet hovered menacingly
over Rama’s brows, and a chill silence
sat like an ominous guest.

Now springing up, as if on an impulse,

Rishi Visvamilra spoke:

”Rama, Kausalya’s darling son, Sita's
eternal spouse: on^' word more.

Since the tune you followed me to the woods
to help me in my Yajna,

I’ve watched you walking the razor-edged path
of time-defying Dharma.

You have, in fair and fierce weather alike,
carried out your ministry
and justified your manifestation
as the vanguard of the race.

These last three weeks, you’ve heard with attention -
like the thousands gathered here —
the Tale of the killing of Ravana
and of Sita’s sadhana.

The Muni’s song sublim** will keep alive
’for all the ages to come
the saga of your sojourn in the woods
with Sita and Saumitri.

This epic-song of your decreed exile
from Ayodhya’s sovereignty,
the austere life in Dandakaranya,
the year of separation

650 Sitayana

when Sita’s agonies and askesis
became elemental fire
and made possible through Ravana’/s end
the righting of ancient wrongs :

your exile and Sita’s tribulations
had to be part of the play
whose ramifications in Space and Time
challenge our understanding.

But wherever you went — Siddhashrama,
Mithila, Rishyamukha,

Lanka — all earth, air and sky felt a change,
and are not the same again.

Beat back, O Hero, the unrestrained rush
of grief and anger alike :
rise above the dualities, and shine
as Dharma’s great exemplar."

Rama’s face relaxed somewhat as he rose
and bowed to the two Rishis :
then he turned, with a sheer effort of will,
to face Mum Valmiki :

“Pardon me, O Mahakavi, Muni,

Laureate of Compassion !

You stepped in with your vast redeemer-glance
when I failed my w.edded wife.

Long years ago. King Janaka treasured
that great gift of Mother Earth,
and Rishi Visvamitra guided me
to that invaluable Prize.

Janaka and his sylvan Videha
had/ostered her early years;
and in her noon-time season of trial
you too gave a Father’s love.

You nurtured my sons and taught them the arts
of pea^-e, poetry and music,
but I hadn’t the sense or humility
to accept your solemn word !”

Choked by a fierce push of remorse, Rama
felt unable to proceed,
and that embodiment of truth. Muni
Valmiki, rose to reply:

651 Her Grace Abiding

“Kakutstha! upholder of the order
ordained by timeless Dharma,
do not give way to enfeebling remorse:
all is indeed for the best. 879

How about the loss to our Ashrama
where Sita reigned as Lakshmi,
and her marvellous twins as the dual
powers of Word and Meaning? 880

When the saintly Maithili the Earth-born
stood in tears amid the green
between the Ganga and the Ashrama,

Grace came knocking at our doors. 881

With the percipience of my tapasya
I saw all and suffered all,
and in our quiet spaces she just lived

the Yoga of Sufferance. 882

And Narada made me wise about you
and bade me indite the Tale
of your ending the Rakshasa’s misrule
and of Sita’s m’*'ii?iry. 883

And the bereaved Krauncha’s heart-rending cries
coalesced with the poignant notes
of Sita’s great anguish in Asoka

as the sruti of the Song. 884

All is changed for all of us, Kakutstha,
yet nothing, nothing, is changed,
for my Tale, as sung by your sons, declares

Its own immortality. 885

Give us leave, O King, to return to our
respective habitations
neat or distant, and we’ll cherisn always

the gifts of the Sacrifice.” 886

With his calm restored, Rama accepted
the Muni’s sage suggestion,
and thanking them for their ministrations
wished them a safe journey home. 887

“And O Princes, High Priests, Rishis, Sages!”

he added, “my sons, Kusa
and Lava, will in course of time become
the twin monarchs of the realm :

888

652 Sitayana

Lava of North Kosala, and Kusa
of Ayodhya and the South;
and may I hope I would follow after
and rejoin Sita elsewhere!”

The huge congregation dispersed at last
to the reverberation
of Vedic runes of massive potency
invoking the good of all.

The Nara, Vanara, Rakshasa guests,
the Sages, Rishis, Munis,
all the divers groups, classes, commoners,
all began melting away,

and the whole sacrificial area
in the Naimisa Forest
presented more and more the vacant look
of a derelict city.

It was with a heart heavy with unease
that Rama, after ‘farewell’
to the last of his respected guests, turned
his frank gaze to the future.

He had returned to his improvised tent
bordering the Gomati,
and an intolerable loneliness
fell like a pall on his self.

His new-found sons were as yet strangers still,
and had left for Ayodhya
in the company of the Queen-Mothers
and the three pairs of cousins.

Desiring privacy, he had also
sent away his entourage,
expecting he might recapture the calm
of the nights in Dandaka.

Some more years, perhaps, may be a decade,
he need 4 must breathe the cold air
of a world that his stance of rectitude
had rendered void of Sita.

This was, however, nothing new to him ;

he had known separation
before, and he could suffer it again ;
his hardened heart would bear all.

653 Her Grace Abiding

All passion spent, his ego mauled, his hopes
all flat, his spirits drooping,
his functions all weary, yet Rama’s soul
gained a new sweep of seeirtg.

Now the broken pieces seemed to settle
into a causal pattern ;

hadn’t his High Priest called him an unconscious
engineer of destiny?

He had cast out Sita, yet Satrughna
was visible Ayodhya
in the Ashrama when Sita mothered
Rama’s twins, Kusa, Lava*

Kosala was the body neurotic
but Valmiki's Ashrama
had proved the saviour soul of Ayodhya -
Providence had shaped the ends !

And now a Stui tling flash of superlight,
and awakened Rama asked:

"Oh where’s the sundering, where's the parting,
where’s the separative wall?”

In a climactic assertion of will
his Self cast aside the veil,
ar influx of Delight flooded his heart
and thrilled his tired human limbs.

The dim-lit retreat was aglow as if
a thousand Suns were ablaze,
and he felt the glare of an ecstatic
splendour of revelation.

Shaken, yet greatened, by the fusional
reaction, he lisped the words:

"Sita is myself; Maithili, myself;
tfiere has been no severance.”

Caught as he was in that blinding glory,

• his dazzled eyes saw i othing;
yet some deeper vision seemed to open
on the inner spiritscapes.

Consciousness flew back to the timeless time
before manifestation
began the divisive formulations
and killing dichotomies.

654 Sitayana

In that Sun-splendour of revelation
the thousand polarities
seemed to be wholly reduced to cinders,
and only wholeness remained.

909

And the customary chair he sat in,
hard-backed, uncomfortable,
might as well have dissolved or ceased to be,
for sense-awareness was gone.

910

Only the ineffable two-in-one
feeling of identity —

beyond logic, reason and common sense -
generated all that bliss.

911

At the very time Rama had this fit
of delirious drowning
or super-sensory detonation,
there was fall-out elsewhere too.

912

Although the sprawling camp was deserted,
there was residual life
in a few of the widely scattered huts,
for the last were yet to go.

913

And just when Rama had his amazing
leap of transcendence ending
his tragic isolation from Sita
and affirming their oneness.

914

three others also, from diverse angles,
saw the unearthly splendour
in Rama’s lightning-hit riverside hut,
and made for it with all speed.

915

While Vasu. and the rest of the Muni’s
disciples had left with him
earlier, Trijata had lingered on
to see her family off.

916

Now, as she stood in front of her arbour
and fixed her gaze on Rama's,
she saw earth and sky were tearing apart
as though riven by lightning.

917

Oh could Time race back to that splendorous
delayed Dawn in Ayodhya
when Vasishta crowned Rama and Sita
amid soulful rejoicings?

918

655 Her Grace Abiding

Trijata’s gift of seeing had never
struck her quite so forcibly
as now, for the gold-glow and indigo
forged the marvellous Visioft.

From other points of vantage far apart,
Lakshmana and Hanuman,
when fhey turned their eyes of adoration,
saw there the cloud-burst of Truth :

Sita in her glory of holiness
seated by Raghava's side
with all the ritual magnificence
wedded to the Sun-lit hour.

From their divers favoured points they hastened
and reached Kakulstha's cottage,
as if the timing had been synchronised
by an uncanny power.

All three at the threshold together
like creepers ol devotion
that both intertwine and spiral their way
to the soul-heart of the Sun.

The moment mutual recognition
affirmed their common scripture,
the transfiguring radiance that had

brought them close seemed to withdraw

“Whither has fled," asked Trijata in aw'e,

“the Vision of Blessedness?"

Lakshm^ana was wistful, but Hanuman
wore a transfiguring look.

Just then, as in a dream of bliss and peace,
Rama came out with the glow
of ^ new experience of Delight,
a crystal Felicity.

All three made obeisance to Raghava,

•and after they had risen,

Rama rained on them his understanding
gaze, and spoke* ambrosial words:

“The scission is ended, and Maithili
is for all eternity

seated here in my heart's sanctuary,
inseparable from me.

656 Sitayana

Her twin hands dispensing the desired gifts,
she will redeem the children
of this impassioned yet suffering Earth,
and her Grace will never fail. ^

929

In our own terrestrial game of chess,
the pawns, so adroitly moved
by the rival players, laugh at them both
for their false complacencies.

1

930

The longer the stretch of your steady gaze,
the causal links seem clearer,
and foul and fair become categories
confused and tantalising.

931

Nothing, Saumitri, is here for remorse;

Trijata, no room for tears;
and Maruti, your Sun-like consciousness
should bear witness to the Truth.”

932

Trijata bowed low: 'Tve the Muni’s word

I might presently go back
and keep inviolate the Simsupa
that saw Sita’s tapasaya^

933

Lakshmana said: ‘M’m no good at speaking,
but the old anguish is spent:
wherever Rama reigns, there’s Sita too,
and n serve them both, always.”

934

And Hanuman, with a deep obeisance
and his face suffused with light:

“Wherever the Sita story is sung,
there I’ll be in attendance.”

935

Three rapt faces: the psychic Trijata;

the self-effacing Brother,

Lakshmana; the sole-sufficing Bhakla,
the intrepid Wind-God’s Son!

936

Three convergent pairs of eyes, three candles
of aspiration and faith,

fought the forest’s shadows and the grim night,
and merged in a single Flame.

937

The brightness faded imperceptibly
as Rama slowly withdrew,
and the other three disappeared, one by
one, in the forest shadows.

938

657 Her Grace Abiding

Ten thousand cycles of hibernation,
birth, growth, flowering, fruition,
and fall, and once more winter! But the Earth
renews itself, and endures. 939

The Earth never tires or stales or despairs,
for. the pulses of Sita’s
heart of compassion sustain and foster
our evolving Life Divine. 940

EPILOGUE

It is finished, Sita’s saga sublime,
the fitful recordation
of tfie aches, exultations, soul-searchings
of the blemishless Earth-born.

‘Sita’, the serious scholars affirm,
but signifies the ‘furrow’;
and they speculate ‘Sita’ might have been
a fertility goddess.

Didn’t the Hellenes weave their Eleusinian
mysteries of Life and Death
and Rebirth from the myth of Dcmeter
and her child, Persephone?

When liio livers sank to a miserly
trickle between Prackish pools,
when the once dense branches were now leafless
and the ground below sapless;

when the skies ere oppressive indigo,
and truant clouds elusive;
when hunger groaned its grim omnipresence,
and the fire-fumes rose above:

then Mother Earth’s furrowed face attracted
answering rain from the sky,
new life coursed through the veins of desert land
and the Earth was gay once more.

But Sita, you were the gracious wonder
of the response of the Gods
tojhc cry of distress in Videha
wrung from Janaka the King.

With your memories of primeval Ea’rth
* and timeless intimacies,
you spanned the ijgenda of the wind-slirred
wilderness of Dandaka,

its penitentiary Hermitages
and the re- erberent chants;
then, in Asoka’s imprisoned dolour,
found the Simsupa a Friend.

660 Epilogue

Your vesture of beauty and light of love
matched your heart of compassion
whose infinity gave refuge to all,
even the false and the foul! 10

And when Sun-splendour was ablaze betimes,
the serpent-tooth struck again,
total eclipse covered the bright spaces,
and all seeing became blind. 1 1

But Muni Valmiki saw you as Grace,
made his Ashrama your Home
and his Poem your consecrated Shrine —
our constant refuge. Mother! 12

NOTES

NAMES : The same person may be referred to in different places
by different names. Thus Rama is also Raghava, Kakutstha (of the
Raghu or Kakutstha line), and Dasarathi (Dasaratha’s son); Sita
(meaning ‘furrow’) is also Janaki (Janaka’s daughter), Maithili
and Vaidehi (of Mithila or Videha); Lakshmana is Sumitra’s son,
hence Saumitri; Hanuman is Anjaneya (Anjana’s son) and Maruti
(the Wind-God’s son); and Ravana’s son, Meghdnad (sound of
thunder) is ‘victor over Indra’, hence Indrajit as well.

REFERENCES: Sitayana is divided into seven Books, each of
eleven Cantos; and these are numbered consecutively from 1 to 77.
Under each Book, the 4- line stanzas (or quatrains) are numbered
continuously .’In the Notes, the Roman numerals refer to the Books
1 to VII , a-id the Arabic numerals to the particular quatrain of
the relevant Book.

PROLOGUE

1. Prakriti; phenomenal Nature (as distinguished from
Purusha, the indwelling Spirit).

2. Shakti : the creative Energy of the Universe.

12. Grace; the prerogative of Divine mercy, generosity, and

redemption.

BOOK ONE; MITHILA

The Bala Kanda of the Ramayana of Valmiki opens with Muni
V^miki and Rishi Narada discoursing on the contours of Human
Excellence, the sage citing Rama of Ayodhya as providing the
exemplum of the Ideal Man. Later Valmiki witnesses a hunter’s
cruel killing of a Krauncha bird and the heart-rending cries of his
mate, and the shock of this tragedy makes the Muni spontaneously
articulate the ‘sloka’ with its burden of ‘soka’ or compassion and
four-spanned metrical adequacy. And in course of time he indites
the Ramayana in that metrical form. Likewise, Narada meets Rishi
Vyasa sitting on the river Saraswati’s banks, and finding him

662 Notes

inexpressibly sad, advises him to compose a poem on the sports

of the Lord, Achutya, Krishna. The result is the Bhagavata. In

Sitayana, the celestial singer and traveller of the worlds, Narada,

meets Janaka of Mithila and initiates the ‘action’ of the Epic.

1. Narada, Janaka; Narada, the self-created Brahma’s mind-
born son, saint and minstrel divine, apostle of hhakti
(devotion to the Lord), and ceaselessly engaged in advancing
God’s work.

Janaka, King of Mithila (or Janakpuri) in Videha.

8-9. Yajnavalkya: “Janaka was not only a brave King but was
as well-versed in the Sastras and Vedas as any Rishi, and
was the beloved pupil of Yajnavalkya whose exposition
of Brahmajnana to him is the substance of the Brihadaran-
yaka Upanishad” (Ramayana by C.Rajagopalachari, 1957,
P- 21).

Gargi Vachaknavi the seeker and Maitreyi the Sage’s wife
figure in the Upanishad.

24. the Pearl and the Net: the metaphor of ‘Indra’s net of
pearls' in the Mahayana Buddhist Avaiamsaka Sutra. If
you look at one of the pearls in the net, you see all the
others reflected in it : such is the mystery of total interming-
ling, interpenetration and interfusion of everything in
everything else, and in all things.

37. the Rakshasas : also referred to as demons, titans, Asuras,
ogres, or prowlers of the Night. As a class they are the
strong evil ones, though there are significant exceptions.
The female of the species is likewise variously described as
demoness, titaness, ogress, and so on.

62. Bhuvaneshwari : Earth the Mother Goddess.

84. The way of love and demotion : Narada is also credited with
the authorship of the celebrated Bhakti Sutras.

89. The Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimba and Vamana
incarnations of Vishnu.

llSff*. cf. Valmiki Ramayana, Uttara Kanda, Cantos 65-7; also
Bala Kanda, Canto 71.

663 Notes

140. the cow-goddess: Sabala, Surabhi, the cow of plenty bom
of the Ocean when it was churned by the gods and the
demons.

ISOff. the Horse Sacrifice: the purpose of the Asvamedha (Horse
Sacrifice) was to free the Agent (here Dasaratha) from the
inhibiting effects ol' past sins, and preparing the ground
for the Tutreshti’ (putra-kameshti) or progeny-ensuring
sacrifice.

iiUtl. cf. Brihadaranyaka, I.i.

226. Gandharvas: celestial musicians and semi-divine warriors.

266. Kaiyayani and Maitreyi: Yajnavalkya’s two spouses.

268. incarnations of Shakti: cf. Devi Mahatmyam which des-

cribes the destruction of the demons by the divers mani-
festations of Devi or Mother.

•

343. Sakdi/.ban ; symbolises the Divine Mother in her power to

satisfy the .iifinite variety of human tastes, and alleviate
hunger and thirst everywhere.

355. Mother Eaith's pristine daughter: a reference to the myth
of Demeter and Persephone (or Ceres and Proserpina).
Persephone is carried away by Hades to the underworld,
but later allowed to return to the earth part of the year.
The legend is thus explained: the seed-com is buried in the
earth for a time, then it rises from the ground to sustain life.

367. The Savitri-Satyavan story is narrated by Rishi Markandeya
in the Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Cantos 291-7. It is also
the subject of Sri Aurobindo’s great modem epic, Savitrr.
4 Legend and a Symbol (1950).

37'’ Anasuya, see Book 111, Canto 23; Lopamudra, see III,
Canto 27.

4SS. the Stair of Yoga : 'Yoga’ meifns aspiring for, and achieving,
union with God or the Transcendent One may take the
Kingdom of Heaven by storm as it were, but for most it is
a climb of the Stair of Yoga with its many steps See Sri
Aurobindo, The Synthesis oj Yoga, 1955, and The Four
Yogas of Swami Vivekananda, condensed by Swami Tapas-
yananda, 1879.

664 Notes

496. tapasya: askesis, a regimen of austerities, a season of
self-absorbed concentration or meditation.

523. Madhavi, the Earth-Goddoss, and Sita’s mother.

625. ‘Visvamitra’ ; also Kausika (of the line of Kusa).

639. Ahalya: see note on 11.30.

672. Brahmatej: soul-strength or spiritual force, in contrast to
Kshatratej (676) or brute-force.

703. Tataka; see Valmiki, Bala Kanda, Cantos 25-6.

706. Vishnu and Vamana : see Valmiki, Bala Kanda, Canto 29.

828. wagering with Vasishta; Harischandra adheres to Truth
even when it means the loss of his Kingdom or the com-
pulsion to put his wife, Chandramati, to death as a ‘witch’,
till at last Visvamitra acknowledges himself defeated, and
restores all to Harischandra.

BOOK TWO: AYODHYA

11. four constituents: chariots, elephants, horses and infantry.

17. Yama: God of Death.

30. Ahalya: her creator, Brahma, gave her to Gautama in
perference to Indra who desired her. Biding his time, Indra
disguised as Gautama seduced her in his absence in the
early hours of the morning. (See also VI. 676.) Challenging
conventional morality, Ahalya — like Tara (Vali’s wife),
Mandodari (Ravana’s Queen), Draupadi (who was married
to the five Pandava brothers) and Sita herself — is lauded
for her chastity.

691f. Ruchi and Vipula: the story is related in the Mahabhardta,
Anushasana Parva, Cantos 75 and 76.

144. Yudhajit: Kaikeyi’s brother and Vicegerent of Kekaya,
assisting his aged father. King Aswapathy.

154: Arundhati: Sage Vasishta’s wife.

166. the prolonged feuding: see I.674ff.

172ff. the seven steps: cf. Yoga Vasbhta, ‘Bhumika Jayah’.

665 Notes

Yoga Vasishta embodies Vasishta’s teaching to Prince
Rama.

223. kusa grass: used in -^Hindu religious ceremonies.

265ff. Kamban’s Manthara exploits Kaikeyi’s generous nature
tself to turn her against Kausalya and Rama:

“Many will come to you for relief
From poverty and dire distress.

Thinking you are a Queen.

And will you beg of her (Kausalya) for means
Wherewith you may assuage their misery?

Will you be ashamed to ask
And turn the supplicants out.

Grieve for it

And sigh and pine and die?

Oh, my dear, hard is a life of dependence.”

[The Ayodhya Canto of the Ramayana: As told by
Kamban, by C.Rajagopalchari, 1970, p. 35.)

298. Sumantra: the King’s charioteer and trusted Minister-in-
waiting.

336. preyas, sreyas: the classic dichotomy between material
and spiritual values, outer and inner well-being, the merely
pleasing and the really good (Katha Upanishad, I.iii.l).

354. These ten and seven years: the number is mentioned by
Kausalya in Valmiki (II.xx.45). The noted Sanskrit scholar,
Vasishta Ganapati Muni, in his Mahavidyati Sutragrantha-
vali (Translated by Srivatsa Natesan, 1958), describes the
Ramayana as essentially a musical composition of 7 Books
representing the sapta-swaras {sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni ),
and states that, when they were married, Rama and Sita
were 16 and 14 respectively. But whereas he gives their
ages at the time of exile as 25 and 23, I allow rather less
than a year between the two events. Not long after the
quadruple* marriage, Bharata and Satrughna leave with
Uncle Yudhajit for Rajagriha, and presently Dasaratha de-
cides on Rama’s coronation taking advantage of Bharata’s
absence. Thus Rama is 17 when he is exiled, and this
corresponds with the age clearly specified by Kausalya.

666

Notes

411. not a woman in man’s image: there is Valmiki’s authority
for this violence of retort on Sita’s part, but in Kamban
she takes her going to the woods with Rama almost for
granted:

She went in and soon came out
Clad in bark and stood by him
And quietly held him by the hand and laughed.

She does grow angry later to silence his lingering hesitation
and have her own way (Rajaji, The Ayodhya Canto, p. 69).

467. heartless as her Kekaya mother: see Valmiki, Ayodhya,
Canto 35, 19ff. Once when reclining King Aswapathy
laughed listening to the speech of a louse, his Queen wanted
to know the reason for his laughter. He couldn’t oblige,
since that would have caused his instantaneous death. But
she had demanded : ‘Tell me, I don’t care whether you live
or die!” And he had to expel her in disgust.

523. Bhagirathi: It was Bhagiratha’s tapasya that brought about
the descent of the Ganga (Himavant’s daughter) to the
earth; hence she is also called Bhagirathi (Valmiki, Bala
Kanda, Cantos 42-3).

531. Prayag: modern Allahabad.

557. It’s lucky we’ve left the city: Having left Ayodhya behind,
Rama finds life in Chitrakuta “conducive to the contem-
plation/that opens to the Real”. In Kamban (ll.v.37),
Rama readily exchanges temporal power and the attract-
ions of the city of Ayodhya for the forest, its wealth of
beauty and life, and its elemental intimacies;

The all-compassionate Rama, fleeing
from the sophistications
of scripture, the culture of the city,
made for open forest-life.

Justice S. Maharajan’s comment on this verse is perceptive:

“In the artificial city, the handiwork qf man is more in
evidence than that of God. But when Man . . . goes into
the forest and mountains ... he feels humbled . . . and is
overpowered by the unseen Presence of God” (Kamban,
1872, p. 3?\

667 Notes

592. Arya : noble Prince ! When he launched his monthly journal,

Arya, in 1914, Sri Aurobindo explained that the word “in
its original use expressed, not a difference of race, but a
difference of culture .V . an ideal of well-governed life,
candour, courtesy, nobility, straight dealing, courage,
gentleness, purity, humanity, compassion, protection of
the weak, liberality, observance of social duty, eagerness
for knowledge, respect for the wise and learned” {Views
and Reviews, 1946, pp. 4-9).

626. a gesture of gratitude ; Kaikeyi had helped Dasaratha when
he fought the Asura, Sambara, and tended and saved her
husband when he lay wounded and unconscious. On his
recovery, he offered two boons to Kaikeyi in his gratitude,
but she had preferred to keep them in abeyance (Valmiki,
Ayodhya, Canto 9, slokas 1 Iff).

724. a sin of«past times; In his days as Vicegerent, as an expert
arcbv . r^asaratha had released an arrow that killed a young
anchorite of the woods, instead of the intended elephant.
The boy’s aged parents had then cursed Dasaratha that,
like themselves, he too would die one day from grief for a
lost son (V: imiki, Ayodhya, Cantos 63-4)

738. Janaka and Sunayana: their visit- - though not to Ayodhya
but Chitrakuta — is related in Tulsi Dasa’s Ramacharita
Manasa.

BOOK THREE: ARANYA

31. darshan: this is more than the physical fact of seeing;
rather is it the Grace of self-revelation of the Deity fin a
Shrine), the Guru, or the Elder, to the seeker or devotee.
More than Sita seeing Anasuya, ii is Anasuya levealing
her inner Self to Sita. See also^204ff.

38.’ Savitri and Rohim; Savitri followed Satyavan even when
he was being taken away by Yama (Death) to his world of
Eternal Night. The cart-like constellation, Rohini, keeps
close to the Moon (Chandra), unmindful of his 'phases’
or vicissitudes; hence Rohini symbolises steadfastness in
love and devotion.

668 Notes

53. gums: There are three elemental prismatic qualities or
modes or moods of being into which the Illimitable Per-
manent seems to divide itself when reflected in space and
time and terrestrial life; tamas (gloom, darkness, inertia),
rajas (passion, fieriness, kinesis), and sattva (goodness,
poise of being). The large aim should be to go beyond all
three gunas, feel enfranchised from birth and death and
the divers dichotomies, and attain immortality (The
Bhagavad Gita, XIV.20). In Sri Aurobindo’s words: “The
three qualities are a triple power ... at the same time a
triple cord of bondage. ‘The three Gunas born of Prakrit!,’
says the Gita, ‘bind in the body the imperishable dweller
in the body’ . . . Evidently, in order to be liberated and
perfect we must get back from these things, away from the
gums and above them and return to the power of that free
spiritual consciousness above Nature” {Essays on the Gita,
SABCL, Vol. 13, pp. 416-7).

63. exemplars of askesis: cf Sri Aurobindo’s magnificently
evocative description of the Rishis, the ‘king-sages’, the
world-naked hermits, the ecstatics, the seer-poets, whom
Savitri encountered while she was venturing through the
deep “world-ways” to choose her future husband:

Some deeper plunged ; from life’s external clasp
Beckoned into, a fiery privacy
In the soul’s unassailed star-white recess
They sojourned with an ever-living Bliss . . .

The Infants of the monarchy of the worlds.

The heroic leaders of a coming time.

King-children nurtured in that spacious air . . .

Intuitive knowledge leaping into speech . . .

They sang Infinity’s names and deathless powers
In metres that reflect the moving worlds . . .

' {Savitri, 1954, pp. 433-6)

75. Mandala : a group or cluster of Ashramas.

107ff'. Commenting on Sita’s speech and Rama’s reply, Rajaji
(Rajagopalachari) writes: “This conversation occurs in
the poem like the cloud that precedes the storm. It is the

669 Notes

artistic creation of a changing atmosphere and not a random
casting up of facile verses” (Ramayana, p.l29).

161fr. Gautama Siddharta too saw during his travels in the woods
similiar extremities of austerity:

Some walked on sandals spiked; some with sharp flints
Gashed breast and brow and thigh, scarred these with fire,
Threaded their flesh with jungle thorns and spits.
Besmeared with mud and ashes, crouching foul
In rags of dead men wrapped about their loins.

{The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold, Jaico, 1949, p.76)

194. austerities and realisations: cf. The Four Austerities and
the Four Realisations’ by The Mother (Collected Works,
Vol. 12, pp 48-71).

226. Sanrt'ina Dharma: as a religion, “the most sceptical
because it has questioned and experimented the most,
the most believing because it has the deepest experience
and the most varied and positive spiritual knowledge, —
that wider Hinduism which is not a dogma or combination
of dogmas but a law of life, which is not a social framework
but the spirit of a past and future social evolution ... its
real, most authoritative Scripture is in the heart in which
the Eternal has His dwelling . . .’’(SABCL, Vol 2, p. 19).

262. the Mystic Fire: According to Sri Aurobindo, behind
and sustaining ordinary fire {jada Agni), electric fire {vai-
dyuta Agni) and solar fire {saura Agni\ there is the Mystic
Fire, the fundamental or spiritual Agni (quoted in Satprem’s
The Adventure of Consciousness, 1968, pp. 336ff,).

32J. Ilvala and Vatapi: The Rakshasa, Ilvala, would invite
Rishi after Rishi for a meal, serve as food his brother
Vatapi cooked for the purpose, and then ask him to come
tearing out of the guest’s body, killing him thereby. But
Agastya, when his turn came, saw through the brothers’
game, digested Vatapi, and burnt Ilvala with a mere stare,
and thus rid the world of the Rakshasa pair.

362. Panchavati : the holy spot, on the banks of the Godavari,
marked by the five fig-trees and not far from modem
Nasik in Maharashtra.

670 Notes

365. Lopamudra’s vision: Seers both, while Agastya feels

gratified with Rama’s coming since it may lead to the
destruction of Ravana, Lopamudra is apprehensive and
resentful because of the possible consequences of Sita’s
involvement in the prospective elemental clash of forces.

411. autumn, winter: actually, Sharad and Hcmania. The

6 Indian seasons are :

Grishma (summer)— mid-June to August;

Varsha (rainy season) — mid- August to October;

Sharad (autumn) — mid-October to December;

Hemanta (winter) — mid-December to February;

Sisira (cold season) — mid-February to April;

Vasanta (spring)— mid- April to June.

(See also VII. ISff.)

415. sandhya: the meeting time of night and day; morning or
evening twilight. (See also IV. 85.)

420. Surpanakha: her nails were large like winnowing baskets,

422. In Valmiki, Rama at first plays with Surpanakha’s emcv
tions, and directs her to Lakshmana. In both Kamban and
Tulsidasa, Surpanakha comes assuming a ‘beautiful' form,
hiding her native repulsive ugliness. It is unlikely, however,
that Surpanakha here and Ravans later thought that in
their native form they were other than beautiful and ir-
resistible.

457. Siddhas, Charanas: Siddhas were realised ones who had
acquired special powers through penance, while Charanas
were celestial singers and path-finders.

487. Asuric nature: even so, in Shakespeare's Measure for
Measure (II. ii), Angelo is tempted by the very odour of
sanctity about Isabella (she has been in a Convent) to make
his outrageous proposal.

528. you have evil thoughts: The only possible explanation of
Sita's conduct here is that she is so unhinged by her fear
for Rama’s safety that she recklessly makes the one wild
allegation that will compel Lakshmana to leave her side
and go in search of Rama. Later (642), Rama too blames
Lakshmana for leaving Sita alone. “What then was he to

671 Notes

do?” asks V.S. Srinivasa Sastri, and (taking his cue from
the commentator Govindraja) offers an answer:
“Lakshmana should l^ave left the scene, should have come
away a little distance, and hung about in the neighbour-
hood, letting Sita believe that he had gone after Rama,
• but not going too far, to be able to protect her in case of
harm” {Lectures on the Ramayana, 1952, p. 381).

537. Nature seemed to feel: Attributing human emotions to
the world of Nature comprising variegated flora and fauna,
and even hills and meadows and rivers, is the figure of speech
'pathetic fallacy'. Indeed, in our ‘bootstrap’ universe, the
interpenetration of emotions on a cosmic scale can hardly
be viewed as absurd or fantastical.

564. seized Sita by her braid: Valmiki doesn't mince matters
and describes the ‘abduction’ in all its stark brutality. In
KuinLaa, Ravana uproots the Ashram cottage itself (with
Sila in it) and carries it away to Lanka. Rajaji comments:

“It is no sin or shame to an innocent woman if a villain
behaves li’ e » brute. Yet, mistakenly, we in this country
look on the violence of a brute as causing a blemish to the
woman's purity. It is in deference to this wrong feeling that
Kamban departed from Valmiki here” {Ramayana, p. 328).

In Tulsi Dasa’s Ramacharita Manasa, although Ravana
carries away Sita in his chariot, it turns out that it is but a
ghost-Sita, and the real Sita rises out of the fire when the
ghost enters it at the conclusion of the war in Lanka and
Ravana's destruction.

582. Prasravana: A gorgeous flower-clad mountain on the way,
whose top was the refuge of Sugriva and his four Vanara
followers.

606. Jatayu fell; Commenting bn Jatayu’s intervention as
described by Valmiki, Rajaji writes:

“To millions of men, women and children in India the
Ramayana is not a mere tale. It has more truth and meaning
than the events in one's life. Just as plants grow under
the influence of sunlight, the people of India grow in mental
strength and culture by absorbing the glowing aspiration
of the Ramayana.

672

Notes

When we see any helpless person in danger or difficulty,
let us think of Jatayu and with firm mind try to help regard-
less of circumstance” {Ramayana, p. 175).

As for Sita’s torment and tears here, and of Rama’s present-
ly, the apt comment again is Rajaji’s;

“The mystery of incarnations is ever the same. They are
weighted with the dust and tears of the body they have
taken, and suffer and grieve like mortals” (ibid., p. 175).

615. tilak: An auspicious vermilion mark worn by a Hindu
woman on her forehead.

654. the pangs of partings ; Rama’s sufferings have been read by
Vaishnava interpreters as being symbolic of God’s mercy
when even a single soul (here Sita), for whatever reason,
has strayed away. >

665. Kaikeyi: Rama here, as earlier Sita (581), are both for the
nonce one with average humanity, and give sudden vent
to their so long carefully contained resentment against
Kaikeyi. But only for a moment, for the mood soon passes.

725, 728, 755. Ayomukhi is evil, to be thwarted in its designs and
driven away; Kabanda is good temporarily veiled as evil,
and now wins release from bondage, and is duly grateful ;
and Sabari is the pure flame of God-love attaining its
consummation. Ayomukhi, Kabanda and Sabari indi-
cate an ascent of consciousness that bodes well for Rama’s
mission of finding the lost Sita.

BOOK FOUR : ASOKA

‘Kishkindha Kanda’ as such is omitted here, but the
events recorded in the Book figure briefly in Hanuman’s
retrospective narration when he talks to Sita in the Asoka
Grc-ve (Canto 42, 636-63).

25ff. (also III. 558). my aggregated wealth: For a latter-day
variation, there is the flamboyant and flawed hero of F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925), who displays
in his oi^n petty way the ancient Rakshasa Ravana’s
demented extravagance.

673

Notes

47. Karta-virya-Arjuna; King of the Haihayas, also known as
Sahasrarjuna; he ruled long at Mahishmati having won
rare boons from Dat^tatreya. Once he seized Ravana and
kept him confined in a cage. But when Karta-virya-Arjuna
carried away Rishi Jamadagni's holy cow, he met his death
at the hands of the Rishi’s son, Parashurama, who was in
turn to be worsted by Rama (Vide Valmiki, Uttara Kanda,
Canto 32).

85. sandhya prayers; like Gayatri (24 syllables) and Savitri
(32 syllables).

lOb. sruti: the Bass in music, the etheric sustainer of song, the
ground of all being.

107. Aswalha: the holy fig-tree whose roots grow upwards and
branches downward; and all the woilds are contained in it
(Kath^ Upanishad, VI. i).

128. ‘Bala’ and ‘Ati-bala’; strength and super-strength.

157. Jivanmukta; the liberated one, although still living; cf.
Sn Aurobindo:

Although consenting to a mortal body.

He is the undying; limit and bond he knows not;

For him the aeons are a playground.

Life and its deeds are his splendid shadow.

(Collected Poems, SABCL, Vol. 5, p. 576)

Mind of Light : one of the overhead (above Mind) powers
of consciousness deriving light direct from the Supreme.

175. Trijata: In Valmiki, Trijata figures as an old well-meaning
and helpful Rakshasi, but Kamban makes her Vibhishana’s
daughter. I have enlarged her role by making her a clair-
voyant prophetess and examplar of devotion.

226. a curse; Once, on Ravana taking the nymph Rambha
against bpr wish, her lover Nalakubara (Kubera’s son)
cursed that the next time the Rakshasa made a s.milar
assault, his head would break into pieces. (Valmiki, Uttara,
Canto 26). See also V.134, for an earlier curse in respect
of Punjikasthali, and VI. 646 relating to Vedavati.

674 Notes

It may be asked how, when Ravana was under a curse al-
ready in respect of his outrage on Punjikasthali (Brahma’s
grand-daughter), he could lajter repeat it on Rambha and
still escape immeditate death. The plausible explanation is
that, being an apsaras and one of Indra's professional se-
ductresses, she could not attract the curse when Ravana
forced her compliance with his desire. The new curse by
Nalakubara, Rambha’s lover, only reinforces the power of
the earlier one, and conscious of Sita’s fire-like purity,
Ravana wisely refrains from taking the last fatal step. As
for Vedavati, on Ravana’s seizing her hair, she throws
herself into the fire, promising to return with an immaculate
birth to bring about his destruction. Anaranya, Ayodhya’s
King, also utters the prophecy that a scion of the
Ikshvakus, Rama, will be responsible for Ravana’s death.
(Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha, Canto I."!, and Uttara,
Cantos 17, 19 and 26).

260ff. the one-eyed, the one-eared: Ralph T.H. Griffith compares
the relevant (but much longer) passage in Valmiki on the
ugly and venomous ogresses to Ariosto’s description in
Orlando Furioso, Canto 6, of the monsters at the gate of
the City of Alcina.

297. sadhana: a regimen of austerity and discipline aiming at
inner or integral realisation.

300. siddhi: a progressive attainment or fulfilment.

304. that venomous crow: see IV. 42 Iff. and IV. 718flF. for a
fuller description of the episode; also V.68.

391. T may not take you back’: Valmiki’s Sita expresses no such
fear, but Kamban’s does (Sundara, Uruk-kattup-padalam,
11 ).

SITA IN ASOKA VAN A: When he takes Sita to his
palace in Lanka, Ravana finds she is as unresponsive to
h»s advances as before, and decides to lodge her in Asoka
Vana and gives her a twelve-month res!i)ite to change her
mind. In the meantime the wardresses are to tempt, cajole
or frighten hei and somehow bring her round (IV.54). Ten
months later, he meets her in Asoka and personally renews

675 Notes

his solicitations. How about the intervening ten months ?
“We must imagine”, says V.S. Srinivasa Sastri, “that
between that time (gf the abduction) and the time when
Hanuman came, which was nearly ten months, Ravana
continually visited her and tormented her in all sorts of
ways” (Lectures on the Ramayana, p. 386). But I have as-
sumed that Ravana, expecting his wardresses — the fair
and ugly ones — to effect through their persuasions and
threats a change of heart in Sita sooner or later, leaves
her well alone for this period. Now at last, his patience
sorely tried and his resentment and impatience mounting,
he makes one more personal effort (this time accompanied
by Mandodari and his other consorts) to win Sita somehow,
and this happens to synchronise with Hanuman ’s visit on
a mission from Rama to find Sita.

459. Dhumaketu: comet or meteor; the smoke-coloured planet,
Kliu

522-5. Surya’s Suvarchala, etc.: fabulous married couples of
antiquity, celebrated for the loyalty of the wife to the
husband *:i fair times as well as foul.

525. Saudasa and Madayanti: see VII. 289-92.

535. Surpanakha: clearly different from the Surpanakha who
started the fateful chain-reaction at Panchavati.

599, Vanara: this expressive word is retained, instead of the
English ‘monkey’ or ‘ape’. Like the Nara-Narayana
alliance in Arjuna-Krishna, here it is Nara- Vanara (Rama-
Hanuman).

665ff. Hanuman’s ‘flight’: Hanuman’s leap across the sea is
elaborately described by Valmiki, Kamban and Tulsi
Dasa in their recitals of the Rama story.

696. nectar mingled with poisoiT: amritam visha samsrishtam,
the paradoxical truth of the quintessential human predic-
ament, apd even of the mystery of incarnations like those
of Rama and Sita !

735. red mark: tilak (see also V.69).

767ff. tumult in the air: Roused to a fury of rage by Sita’s silent

676 Notes

excruciating suffering in Asoka Vana, Hanuman decrees
havoc and lets loose destruction and demoralisation in
Lanka. It all happens with such precipitancy that one can
hardly have a sense of time. It is dramatic 'double time’
really, at once a packed few hours and a stretch of several
days! Also it is a mini- war, a forecast of the Rama-Ravana
yuddha to follow.

800. Indrajit’s minions: the intervention of physical force
renders the occult Brahma force nugatory. But Hanuman
pretends to be bound, for he is eager to meet Ravana.

BOOK FIVE: YUDDHA

46ff. the Honey Grove: After Hanuman’s colourful report of
his finding Sita, mauling the Asoka Grove and meeting
Ravana, there is sudden relief for the Vanaras after all the
months, weeks, days and hours of anxiety, frustration,
near-despair and lingering hope. In their new-found exu-
berance, they lose their balance in the Honey Grove.
Valmiki devotes 3 Cantos (Sundara, 61-3) to this episode.

91flF. When Hanuman sees Sita in Asoka Grove, she tells him
more than once that, of the one-year grace-time given by
Ravana, only two months remain. We may therefore
suppose that total mobilisit^bnt of Sugriva’s array and its
long march towards the $SM[them sea account for nearly
six weeks.

134. Punjikasthali;^|M|||^te on iv. 226. See also 556, 582, for
references to to Ravana’s other victims, Vedavati

and Rambha; and VI.646, 654 and 683.

142ff. In Kamban, Vibhishana’s recital of Hiranya’s saga of
nemesis occupies a whole canto,-' and is one of the most
admiped parts of the epic. See also V.905-6.

154ff. father’s mind: Caught in a distantly simtliar predicament,
Brutus abandons his friend and benefactor, Julius Caesar,
and joins the other side. Here is an extract from Brutus’
soliloquy on the eve of his joining the conspirators:

677

Notes

Between the acting of a dreadful thing
And the first motion, all the interim is
Like a phantasma or ^.hideous dream.
The Genius and the mortal instruments
Are then in council; and the state of man.
Like to a little kingdom, suffers then
The nature of an insurrection

(Julius Caesar, II. i. 63-9).

176 my noble father ; the episode of Vibhishana’s act of sur-
render and acceptance by Rama acquires special significance
in the eyes of the Vaishanava, for it is seen as an exempli-
fication of the way of self-surrender to the Supreme.

191, 195: The way of self-surrender, prapatti, dtma-samarpana, is
infallilrlc. The Divine rejects none who seeks His protection.

Since the vicissitudes of the Rama-Ravana conflict are
recalled here mainly in a scries of reports to the tense ex-
pectant Sita by Trijata, Anala and Sarama, there is some-
zig-zag in the narrative, but the broad sequence of events
is indicated below :

First day ; Evening Ravana holds a meeting of his advisers
(l()9ff).

Night— Vibhishatia’s agony of introspection (119fD.

Second day ; FullermectingofRavana’s Council (12511') ; Kumbha-
karna participates, Indraiit iusults Vibhishana who
leaves Lanka with his fuiuynu^at followers, and takes
refuge in Rama (197-8)

Third day: Rama’s request — then threat — to the Sea-God (219),
who agrees -to a cause>^ay being laid between Bharat
and Lanka.

4th to 8th day (five days): the building of the causeway (221).

Ninth day; Landing of the Vanara arniy in Lanka (223).

Suka and Sarana, Ravana’s spies, show him who is
who in Rama’s army (227ff).

678

Notes

The cruel play of sorcery by Viddyujjihva, and the
fiasco of the false severed head of Rama (241-5).
Ravana ignores his mpther Kaikasi’s and the wise
Avindhya’s advice and warning (257).

Council meeting again, and Malayavan’s advice and
warning (260-4). ,

Ravana organises the defence of Lanka (268).

Rama’s dispositions point counterpoint (272).
Sugriva’s solo attack and bouncing back in time
(278-80).

Suka and Sarana directing Ravana's gaze to Rama,
Lakshmana, Hanuman, Sugriva and other Vanara
stawarts (227ff) and later Vibhishana from Suvala
mountain showing Rama Lanka’s landmarks and
Ravana himself on a tower (276ff) may be compared
with Helen, in the Iliad, pointing out thf main leaders
of the Greek army to Priam, the Trojan King.

Tenth day: (and the first day of the actual war) —

Angada’s futile message from Rama to Ravana
(282-5).

Rama orders total assault and Ravana’s counter-
attack (343-6).

Indrajit attacks from an invisible vantage position and
releases the serpent-darts at Rama and Lakshmana
(354(1).

During the night, the Pushpaka takes Sita to the front
and shows the ‘dead’ bodies of Rama and
Lakshmana, and brings her back to Asoka Grove
(31 Iff).

Eleventh day: (and the second day of the war ) —

In the morning, Anala speaks to Sita about the magic
serpent-darts aiud the instant relief and re-awaken-
, ing on the golden eagle, Garuda’s appearance (364)'.
Trijata later makes a report of Rama’s first encounter
with Ravana: Rama spares the Rakshasa King’s
life with the words, “Go back . . . and return to
fight on a later day’’ (401 -3)..

Night: Ravana’s dream, and Mandodari’s and
Sulochana’s futile appeals (Cantos 49 & 50).

679 Notes

Twelfth day: (and the third day of the war) —

Meeting of Ravana’s Council again, with Kumbha-
karna forcibly^awakened and brought to it (592).

Kumbhakarna’s fall (613).

Ravana takes the Janaka-spectre to Sita, and is
rebuffed (627ff).

Fall of Trisiras, Narantaka, Devantaka and Atikaya
(655ff).

Indrajit again ; Rama and Lakshmana bound (709).

Ravana’s introspection (714-45).

The revival of Rama and Lakshmana on Hanuman
bringing the magic herb Sanjivini (750).

Midnight attack on Lanka (772); death of Kumbha,
Nikumbha and Makaraksha (788)

The exhibition of ‘dead Sita’ by Indrajit (820-4);

^Lakshmana surprises Indrajit at Nikumbhila and
kills him (848).

Ravana dissuaded from killing Sita in revenge (876ff).

Thirteenth day : (and the last day of the war) —

Ravana tO ihe battlefield with Virupaksha, Mahaparsva
(988i.

The fall of Ravana (1048).

364. Garuda: the ‘golden eagle’, Vishnu’s mount, is the cons-
tant enemy of the serpent race, and hence Indrajit’s serpent-
darts lose their potency the moment the Bird opportunely
appears above the battlefield.

406. the Rakshasa King returned: owing his reprieve to his
enemy, Rama, Ravana returns crestfallen to his palace.
This is rather a new and humiliating experience for him.

RAVANA’S DREAM (Canto 49 & 50); I took the idea
for Canto 49 and the next i*rom ‘The Dream of Ravan’
published anonyniously in 1853-4 in the Dublin Magazine,
and reprinted in book form by Theosophy Company
(India) in 1874. But except for the ‘Dream’ idea itself, .here
is hardly anything in common between that brilliant fantasy,
which seems to have been conceived as a ‘theosophic and
mystic’ exercise, and my own ‘Dream’ strictly related to
the Sita- Rama- Ravana story. In introducing this ‘Dream

680

Notes

of Ravana’ motif, my intention was to show how enlight-
ened Rakshasa womanhood — as in Mandodari and
Sulochana, and not alone the members (Sarama, Anala,
Trijata) of the Vibhishana family — reacted to Ravana's
obsession with Sita.

430. Trisiras; different from the one who fought Rama ilong
with Khara’s fourteen thousand.

433. I can but see a daughter in Sita: In some of the versions of
the Ramayana story, Sita is the daughter of Mandodari
and Ravana. As a child she is abandoned in Mithila to evade
a curse on Ravana, and is found, adopted and brought up
by Janaka. For instance, with reference to a Jaina version,
Gunabhadra’s Vttara-puram. V.M. Kulkarni writes:

“The birth of Sita was a mystery, according to Valmiki’s
Ramayana. Gunabhadra wanted to give a lealistic inter-
pretation of her birth. He makes Sita the daughter of
Ravana and Mandodari. He gives a reason for Sita’s being
abandoned by her parents, and describes how Janaka and
his wife Vasudha came across this foundling. This change
has something dramatic about it. A father falling in love
with his own daughter, being unaware of the fact . . ., is
not psychologically improbable” (The Ramayana Tradition
in Asia, edited by V.Raghavan, 1880, p.240).

460. Sulochana: she doesn’t figure in Valmiki, Kamban or Tulsi
Dasa, but does in some other versions, as also in ‘The
Dream of Ravan.’

558. Anaranya: King Anaranya of the Ikshvaku race was killed
in battle by Ravana, but before dying he uttered the
prophecy that one descended from his race, Rama would
end the Rakshasa’s life.

559. Goddess Uma and Nandiswara: When Ravana threatens
to uproot Kailasa and actually shakes it. Goddess Uma is
rattled, and Shiva with a slight pressure of his toe pins the
Rakshasa’s hands as in a vice, making him howl for ages in
pain and shame (Valmiki, Uttara, Canto 16). See also
VI.708.

627ff. Janaka in chains: the episode, presented here in brief, is

68 1 Notes

fully elaborated in Kamban’s Ramavataram (Yuddha
Kandam, Canto 14). This bizarre event is, however, almost
anticipated in IV.495%

703. surrender to Falsehood: The resort to magic, the propitia-
tion of Evil, the ignoration of Good, may mean immediate
success, but there is always a catch somewhere, and God is
not mocked at all ! This is realised by Ravana himself in
his lucid moments (734, 745).

809. web of existential life: In this intricate and interpenetrating
cosmos, the centre of action is everywhere, and sensitive
Sita must needs experience all that is happening on the
battlefield and in Lanka’s homes as well.

976. stranger to the Power: In Valmiki, Rama regards himself
only as a man, although several of his deeds appear extra-
ordinary and superhuman; and here, Sita too seems to say
that she is nothing more than a woman.

1004ff. Agastya initiates: ‘Aditya Hridayam’ figures in Valmiki,
Yuddha Kanda, Canto 107, and is here condensed from
my The ic beautiful, pp. 463-9.

BOOK SIX: RAJYA

16. Sita had cursed: IV, 558-9.

31. her mother heart to compassion : As in V. 809, Sita must
experience in herself all the world’s misery.

87. Rama asked Saumitri: Just as earlier Rama will not enter
Kishkindha, now also he asks Lakshmana to have
Vibhishana crowned in Lanka as King. For 14 years Rama
is banished, and he will not enter any city during this period.
See also 256.

102. is there any who has never done a wrong? {Na kaschit
ndparacJlipafi) : “One does not know”, writes V.Sitaran iah,
“if there is anything equal to it even in the Ramayana^'
{Valmiki Ramayana, 1872, p.l73).

In Valmiki, Sita reinforces her point — the Arya ethic
that will not permit the return of wrong for wrong — by

682 Notes

citing the words of a Bear to a Tiger in the following context.
A Hunter pursued by a Tiger climbs up a tree where he
finds a Bear who is friendly 4 <nd declines, when requested
by the Tiger to throw him down, to oblige. Presently sleep
claims the Bear, and now the Hunter, on the Tiger’s sug-
gestion, pushes the sleeping Bear down. The Bear, how 9 ver,
catches a branch in time and climbs up to safety. Once more
the Tiger makes its request to the Bear, citing the Hunter’s
unworthiness. It is then that the Bear speaks with calm
and clarity to the Tiger, and enunciates the adamantine
Law, which is now recalled by Sita for Hanuman’s edifi-
cation :

Doubtless you know the story of the Bear
that, in the name of Dharma,
exhorted the Tiger to meet Evil ,

by Good, and not more evil.

The good are known by their unwavering
adhesion to Righteousness,
unmindful of what one’s adversaries
or the unrighteous may do.

For the good, there’s the innermost jewel
of inviolable Honour

to cherish, and this they needs must safeguard,
aye, whatever the hazard.

134. ‘Aryaputra’: Noble Prince; classical form of address (of
husband by wife), “betokening love and respect combined”
(Rajaji).

148. not of noble birth: this additional insult to the main injury
figures in Kamban (Meetchi Padalam, 65).

1 50ff. Rama’s words, like poisoned darts .... This terrible
scene— as terrible in Kamban as it is in Valmiki — is muted-
a great deal in Tulsi Dasa. Following Adhyatma Ramayana,
Tulsi Dasa makes the real Sita enter the fire'before Ravana’s
coming, and it is a Maya Sita, a Shadow, that confronts
him. While Rama- engages in a game of manifestation to
fight and destroy the Rakshasas, Sita is to abide in the fire

683 Notes

and wait on events. Thus it is the Shadow that enters the
fire now, and the real Sita springs from it and rejoins Rama :

•

Rama, wishing to* call forth her soul’s inner witness,

Decreed she pass thro' fire to prove thus her fitness.

For this cause — to prove Sita faithful — with words

Seeming harsh the Most Gracious One spoke . . .

When Vaidehi saw a fierce flaming fire lighted,

She prayed — heart rejoicing, in no way affrighted . . .

She walked on flames ccol as sandal-wood . . .

The fierce flames burnt her shadow and all the world's

slander,

but none of them touched her;

None saw the Lord’s works and ways . . .

Thus at Rama’s left side in her beauty and glory

the fair Sita stood . . .

With fair Sita his bride standing there at his side.

Shone his glory unmeasured, unbounded.

(The Ramayana of Tulsidas, translated by the Rev.

A.G.i^.Kiii:>,1966, Vol. 2, pp. 764-6).

163. your green eye: Rama is for the nonce insanely driven to
jealously, and as V.S.Srinivasa Sastri observes:

“He (Rama) swayed between these two feelings (faith
and jealous rage), and at first the worse feeling prevailed”
(Lecturer on the Ramayana, 1952, p. 172).

In his lecture, Sastri compares Rama’s jealousy with
Othello’s, and contrasts it with King Arthur's and
Gautama’s. Desdcmona like Sita vas innocent, but
Guinevere and Ahalya were guilty, but through tapasya
they redeemed themselves.

176. Trijata . . . spoke bitter winged words: In Valmiki, none

• in the vast congregation protests against Rama’s behaviour,

and this is interpreted by Sastri “as proof that Sri Rama
had established his moral superiority over the whole world
to such an extent that he could do anything he pleased”
(ibid., p. 174). Higher than the ‘moral’ (in our times,
military or charismatic) might is the ‘human’ imperative.

684

Notes

and it is Trijata the Rakshasi by birth that here raises the
lone voice of protest.

•

256. Had I rushed to see you in Asoka: There is the remotely
parallel situation at the end of the Trojan War. According
to one version, the injured Menelaus rushes to Helen’s
palace with drawn sword to kill her, but confronted by her
great beauty he lets the sword drop . . . But what Rama
says here is probable enough, and the ‘raw truth’ may have
turned away the falsity of the suspicion.

283. delicate errand: Perhaps, it was not really to test Bharata
but rather to let Hanuman see for himself Bharata’s nobility
and incandescent loyalty that Rama sent his emissary in
advance to Nandigrama.

304ir. This Canto — ‘The Coronation of Rama and Sita’ - draws
freely upon my verse translation of the ‘Rama Pattabhi-
shekam’ Canto (Yuddha, Canto 131) of Valmiki Ramayana,
given as Epilogue II in The Epic Beautiful.

357, 360, 362, 366: the necklace of purest white: Sita, with Rama’s
consent, gives Hanuman the necklace she had received
earlier from Rama, who had received it as Indra’s gift
from Vayu. The necklace is in addition to the “pair of
spotless robes” given earlier to Hanuman (361). And it is
special grace to* give Hanuman what she has just received
from Rama. But Hanuman, after all, is “the gem of the
necklace” of the entire saga, and it is fitting he gets a neck-
lace carrying at once Indra’s, Vayu’s, Rama’s and Sita’s
own good wishes and benedictions.

449. Madhubani paints: See 1.31 Iff.

516. branded as a defector: Michael Madhusudan Dutt, authisr
of the Bengali epic Meghanad Badha, wrote to a friend that
Ravana was “a noble fellow, and but for that scoundrel
Bivishian (Vibhishana), would have licked the monkey*
army into the sea” (quoted in History of Bengali Literature
by Sukumar Sen, 1860, pp. 218-9). And V.S. Srinivasa
Sastri found on inquiry that many in North India (and
some even in the South) looked upon Vibhishana as “a
traitor, a betrayer”, and added that he “should be possibly
saved from his detractors” {Lectures on the Ramayana,
p. 224).

685

Notes

580. Prajapati: see Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, V.ii.

612ff. Pulastya: the story of Ravana’s antecedents is given in full
in Valmiki, Uttara, opening Cantos.

71 1. the hefty girls of Sveta-dvipa: See Valmiki, Uttara, 5th of
the ‘interpolated’ Cantos after Canto 37.

716ff. Hanuman: See Valmiki, Uttara, Cantos 35 and 36.

766. Turiya-self: (cf. Mandukya Upanishad); beyond waking,
dreaming and deep sleep, a pure consciousness eternal
and blissful.

BOOK SEVEN : ASHRAMA

125 lei her now have her desire: Commenting on Rama’s action,
as related by Valmiki in Uttara, Canto 45, V.S.S.Sastri says:

“Now Rama decrees that Sita should be banished. This
time Rama sinks lower and lower. Not only does he, against
the testimony of his own conscience, decide to banish Sita
but he does it secretly. He does not tell her.” And
Lakshmana is to play a dubious part, take Sita on false
pretences to the woods, leave her there and come away
{Lectures on the Ramayana, p. 179).

201. drgya: water, and other offerings while welcoming a guest.

289. Saudasa and Madayanti: see earlier, IV. 525.

308. darhha: a species of sharp-edged grass used for religious
rites.

4^7. life-protector : Ozone.

485ff. Narada: Condensed from ‘Prologue’ to The Epic Beautiful,
the ‘Prologue itself being an English verse rendering of the
openingjCantos (1-3) of Bala Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana.

^16. Book of Sita: it is here assumed that Valmiki indited the
Sundara Kanda — ‘Book of Sita’ — first.

841. and swore her faith: Commenting on the corresponding
climactic scene in Valmiki, Sastri says :

686 Notes

“One last scene yet, not less tragic than any that has gone
before. But it is its own class. It transcends our experi-
ence, it defies our imagination, it leaves us speechless with
awe, and with a feeling that we are no longer on earth”
(ibid., p. 399).

EPILOGUE

3. Eleusinian mysteries: the great festival and mysteries that
were celebrated in honour of Demeter and Persephone at
Eleusis, a town to the north-west of Athens.